PC Pro-October 2021

@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Reviews

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SCORE tops

PRICE £1,134 (£1,361 inc that
from ballicom.co.uk
The
Dynabook annou is this
update to its X30L
way back in Octo s, with
m one

2020, meaning it’s pr icularly
the longest we’ve had to oticeable.
from press release to fi econd,
product. Blame Brexit, isn’t as
blame Covid, blame the lead
Christopher Timothy – what matters space, but few people will criticise its andaprivacyfilter you to expect. It is responsive – a
is that’s it here now, and whether it’s vibrancy thanks in part to a 1,579:1 activates,blocking score of 154 in the PC Pro benchmarks
worth the wait. contrast ratio. With a peak brightness nosyneighbours indicates that – but it’s notable that
On paper, the answer must be yes. of 425cd/m, it can cope with all but the Core i5-powered Huawei
Dynabook packs a 13.3in screen into a the sunniest conditions. It also has a MateBook D 15 on p49 scored higher
magnesium alloy chassis that weighs secret skill: press Fn + D and a privacy in Geekbench 5’s multicore
906g, and don’t imagine it’s flimsy: screen kicks in, making it harder for component (4,622 versus 4,482). I saw
it’s even backed by a “Reliability nosy neighbours on a train to see a similar pattern in our games tests,
Guarantee” that means Dynabook what you’re typing. It’s very effective. with the Huawei typically averaging
will provide a repair and full refund if My next big positive is the sheer 5fps higher. All this indicates that the
it fails within the one-year warranty. compactness of the design, and you Portégé’s compact dimensions limit
It packs in an 11th-generation Core i7 don’t need to travel far to see what I its “power envelope”.
processor, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB mean: if you’re reading this review in RECOMMENDED I also doubt that you’ll ever see
SSD, along with Windows 10 Pro, for a a physical copy of PC Pro then the Dynabook’s claimed 14 hours of
competitive £1,134 exc VAT. What, X30L almost directly matches it. The battery life. In our video-rundown
you may well ask, is the catch? only difference is that it’s three times test, the X30L gave up after just under
I found a couple during my thicker at 17.9mm. eight hours. For a more anecdotal
tests, but let’s first focus on That thickness is almost example, in the course of
the many positives, certainly dictated by the 1eao“0Tvxf0hetchree%ealIlgGesveRnoZtlDGOu.BempIltagtecana,oemEwvlouieistftrhs0osia.um94nt76po%”lfya an hour’s light use
starting with the (connected over Wi-Fi
screen. This version height of the Gigabit with the panel at 170cd/
of the X30L Ethernet socket m), it dropped by 15%.
includes a Sharp squeezed on the Luckily, the USB-C
IGZO panel, and charger doesn’t take up
it’s simply right side, where much room in a bag.
it’s kept company
by a Kensington
excellent. It lock slot, USB-A I would have liked ten hours or
covers 97% of the 3.1 port, microSD more battery life, but there are so
sRGB gamut out card slot and a many plus points to the Portégé
of a 100% volume, smart card reader. LEFT There’satiny X30L’s design that this isn’t the killer
with an average On the left you’ll fingerprintreader drawback it could be. Dynabook has
Delta E of 0.46 – find a 3.5mm jack, insidethesimilarly made a superb and highly portable
which all means superb second USB-A port, small touchpad business laptop. Whether you’re
colour accuracy within the HDMI output and two buying for yourself or your business, I
confines of sRGB. Thunderbolt 4 ports. With Wi-Fi 6 suspect you’ll love it. TIMDANTON
It isn’t a wide gamut panel, and Bluetooth 5, the only omission is
support for mobile broadband – but SPECIFICATIONS
BATTERY Videorundown,7hrs48mins other models of the X30L include this. 4-core 2.8GHz (4.7GHz burst) Intel Core
Such a compact chassis means a i7-1165G7processor IntelIrisXegraphics
smaller keyboard and touchpad than 16GBDDR43,200MHzRAM 13.3in
is ideal, but unless you have gigantic non-touch IPS display with privacy filter, 1,920
PCPRO BENCHMARKS hands you should find it easy to hit x1,080resolution 512GBM.2PCIeSSD 2x2
all the keys without error. The cursor Wi-Fi6 Bluetooth5.1 2xThunderbolt4
OVERALL 154 keys are half-height, as is the (USB-C) 2xUSB-A3.1 HDMI microSDslot
function key row, but there are no GigabitEthernet 720pIRwebcam 53Wh
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 other obvious compromises. It’s not battery Windows10Pro 306x210x
the most tactile keyboard, but 17.9mm(WDH) 906g 1yrC&Rwarranty
BREAKDOWN SCORES eImd1i7ati0gneg eVd1idi3tie1nog taM1s6kuil4ntig

51

Reviews

ApfaHorrPsriunupOntprefefirfnorirtt-cihsinetpagsJetmteecedatoxnyntPigienrnyikvov:ejoie9talt’u0slmai2ds2eeeearl

SCORE

PRICE £194 (£233 inc VAT)
from pcpro.link/324hp

With the OfficeJet Pro 9022e,
HP isn’t just selling you a
printer but trying to change
the way you think about printing If
itself. Although you can certainly buy you were
this printer and use it like any other, thinking of sending photos of
HP intends it to be a flag bearer for its connecting this receipts to cloud storage.
HP+ Instant Ink subscription service. printer to a PC using
In some ways, this is a positive its USB port, you might be Brutal speeds
thing: signing up gets you six months put off by the sticker over the HP’s OfficeJet Pro range is designed
of free ink and adds an extra year on port, imploring you to use Wi-Fi ABOVE Fromtheslick to churn out prints fast, so it can be
the warranty, taking it up to three instead. That makes sense because, if touchscreentothe35- shared between multiple users on a
years in total. The downside is you you’re going to use HP+, the printer sheetADF,the9022e network. The 9022e doesn’t hold back
have to contractually tie your new has to be connected to a network. screamsefficiency on this front. At 16 seconds, it’s not
printer into the service and forgo particularly fast to drop the first page,
using non-HP cartridges. Soft touch but from then on it’s blistering.
The 9022e we’ve reviewed here is Thankfully, Wi-Fi setup is simple. When printing mono pages it
essentially the same as the OfficeJet You use the HP Smart app, which can passed the 20ppm barrier, making
Pro 9020, but with all the elements be installed on a mobile device, it the fastest text printer I’ve
you’ll need to get started with HP+. Windows PC or Mac. This uses the reviewed this year, and that list
Wi-Fi on your device to connect to the includes laser printers. It slowed
Big statement printer and to automatically transfer down when printing in
your network’s credentials so it can g“Ieftytohue sfiirgsntuspixtomHoPn+th, ysou colour, dropping to
Few printers are small and compact, be found by other devices. There’s 8.5ppm. That’s still quick
but the HP OfficeJet Pro 9022e is for an inkjet, but a colour
larger than most. Measuring 437 x 396 also an Ethernet port, so you can free, which could save you laser printer will typically
x 318mm (WDH) and weighing 11.6kg, hardwire it to your network. hhuoonkdruepdtsooafpproiucniedrspiflayno”u be faster. Colour duplex
it requires a significant slice of desk to The apps for all devices have a prints slowed the printer
sit on. If it looks more like a laser uniform look and there are plenty of further, dropping it to
printer than an inkjet, it’s a deliberate tools available to make printing
ploy – everything about this printer easier. You do get a slightly different 4.6ppm. It’s no slouch in this
screams office efficiency, from the selection, however, depending on the department but it isn’t going to win
35-sheet automatic document feeder platform – from a smartphone or any gold medals.
that sits on top of the scanner to the tablet, for example, there are options Thankfully, the scanner doesn’t
dual 250-sheet paper trays in the to scan from the camera and print hold back when printing copies.
base. The paper output tray juts out from photos, features that are In our tests, a mono copy was
between the two. missing from the PC/Mac apps. produced in 11 seconds, while a
The printer is operated via a slick The app also connects well to all colour copy took 17 seconds.
touchscreen in the top-right corner, the usual cloud-based services, The document feeder slowed
which can be tilted upwards and out, including Dropbox, Google it back down to average
making it easier to view and operate Drive and Box. speeds, but it’s certainly still
if you’re standing over it. HP is good You can even create your impressive overall.
at these screens and this one is as own shortcuts that link
responsive as the rest for swiping and services, allowing you to do Instant Ink
tapping. It’s not as bright or crisp as a clever things such as scanning Print costs are slightly
phone screen, but it’s good enough. straight to your email app or complicated, thanks to HP’s
Instant Ink subscription service.
If you sign up to HP+, you get the first
HP+ INSTANT INK SUBSCRIPTION COSTS Rollover pages Excess per page ABOVE HP’ssubtle six months free, which could save
attempt to dissuade you hundreds of pounds if you hook
Pages per month Price per month Cost per page

15 99p 6.6p 45 10p peoplefromusingthe up to a pricier plan.
50 £1.99 4p 150 10p USB port At best, you can print for around
3p per page (it doesn’t matter if it’s a
100 £3.49 3.5p 300 10p colour or a mono print), but you have
to get close to printing the maximum
300 £9.99 3.3p 900 10p amount in order to make it pay,

700 £22.49 3.2p 2100 7p

1500 £44.99 3p 4500 7p otherwise you’re paying for prints

All prices inc VAT

52

@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO SUFBRSOCMR£IP2T9I.O50NS

you don’t produce. There are a range – but still better than all but the
of plans you can opt for, all based on highest volume subscription costs. If
the number of pages printed per you can find HP cartridges at a
month (see table opposite). discount, you’ll be quids in.
Here’s how it works: Instant Ink RaspberryPiprojec ALAN LINUX ON M●●●CA1SS0hRtu0yprS%lieso!rhvbiEmdrbexuassecti-tglfbeurnreossyeilpvif6ee repor t inside
monitors your printing remotely,
Print quality T1E2STN p34

keeping track of how many pages you If you’re looking for the last word in
have printed (note that even a graphics quality, and at speed, the
cancelled print counts against your 9022e isn’t your friend. I saw banding WFSOEIRCN hBUoUpmSgIerNaodEfeSfiSctoe-CaLASSba●rlwoAaalwdysba-yafsan-sdotn, £169PRWOODRUTCHTS
quota if some ink has hit the paper). If in areas of solid colour at standard
✓✓✓MGExeaptkoeresbaerlo-twims e sColfatiwmyoeu:rseopn6us

you don’t use your entire allowance, settings, and once you spot these you
pages are banked and used against can’t unsee them. Switching to the
any overprinting in subsequent best quality fixes the problem, but a o●nLvoiodkeoshcaarlpls
y●oSutrrdeaemskltionepp26
months, although you can only bank reasonable-quality print shouldn’t be 8Y3AM6961341E7S7SI 9
twice the number of pages as you reserved for the highest settings. 99.5£ 1202 ENUJ 023 EUSSI● 17 Wind●oFwi
030283 664177 9CLdaseisrggeeatilsalty:tael
RAiggrehentwmta
60
99.50£3202283LU6J 162431E7U7SSI9

0
33SGMDKF EDOC E AWTFOS S NOB
have in your monthly allowance. Despite the speed at which it flies SyWoimoohpsulearmtWesaiks-uFirleil?intog Sb2tar0obwrsileliraandtd-ons
While HP is monitoring the volume out of the printer, text is better. Close
of your printing, it keeps an eye on inspection (with a magnifying glass) AVAILABLE IN:
your ink levels and sends replacement shows it’s rougher than printers that
cartridges before the current batch take more time and care over their
runs out, which is the best part of the prints, but there’s not that much in it. Print
service. You’re also sent an envelope Photo print quality is
so you can send spent cartridges back disappointing. Large areas of black in 6 issuesfor just £29.50
to be recycled. our test prints came out blotchy and FREE 32GB USB Stick
If you want to buy cartridges off colours were generally washed out.
the shelf, it could work out cheaper Clearly, this printer isn’t intended for
still. At the time of writing, HP was keen photographers.
selling all four cartridges in a bundle In contrast, the scanner performed Print + Digital
for £90. The black cartridge can print reasonably well. Colour copies
1,000 pages, while the three colour produced from the printer’s control 6 issues for just £33.50
cartridges can print 700 pages each. panel were more washed out than Access to the digital edition
Presuming they all run down at the ideal, but scanning a photo direct to on your iOS or Android device
same rate, the price per page works Windows at 1,200dpi produced FREE 32GB USB Stick
out to 2.9p. detailed, colourful results.
If you run through the cartridges
at different rates, black on its own The right home
costs £30 while the three colour A busy small or home office is going
cartridges are £22. This works out to find the 9022e a useful device to
slightly more expensive – 2.9p per have around. It’s easy to set up, easy
mono page and 3.1p per colour page to use and prints text documents at a
phenomenal rate. The option to have
BELOW Theappsofferplentyoffeaturesthat 250 sheets of two paper types ready
make the print process smoother to print, and a subscription to ensure
ink never runs dry, means you don’t
have to do much to keep it running.
For home users prepared to wait
for their prints, though, there are
better products. Printing a lot of
photos? The Canon Pixma TS8350 (see
issue 320, p81) produces vastly
superior results. And although the
9022e isn’t expensive to run, you can
find a better price per print
elsewhere, too. Most notably, the
Canon Pixma G650 (see issue 323,
p69) provides great prints at 0.2p per
mono and 0.4p per colour page.
The 9022e strikes a good balance
between speed and print costs and ORDER ONLINE AT:
it’s convenient. However, those
seeking the highest quality or lowest dennismags.co.uk/pcpro
costs are better off looking elsewhere.
ANDY SHAW OR CALL: 0330 333 9493

SPECIFICATIONS QUOTE OFFER CODE: P324
4,800x1,200dpiinkjetMFP fourcartridges
(CMYK) 1,200x1,200dpiscanner 2.7in Calls to 03 numbers will be charged at your standard
touchscreen 100-sheetreartray 802.11n local rate. Gift limited to 50 subscribers. Please allow
Wi-Fi Ethernet USB faxmodem 437x 28 days for delivery. UK only. Dennis Publishing reserves
396x318mm(WDH) 11.7kg recommended the right to limit offers of this kind to one per household.
2,000pagesmonthlyvolume 3yrlimited
warranty with HP+

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Scan recommends

Reviews @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO

bHsHisiouumnaa’atpswwqtliseuceisii’ttstiyeyMd,lpbeeeua,brftutefteetahcVmteutiopreneawisntoearlnidtself

SCORE

PRICE £499 (£599 inc VAT)
from huawei.com

Whatever your views about
Huawei as a company, this
monitor proves one thing
beyond a doubt: it knows how to
innovate. With its screen debut, it – is a huge range of options. Take your record your voice clearly even from a
takes an entirely different approach colour gamut choices. You can choose few metres away.
to the rest of the industry, and in DCI-P3, sRGB or Native. And that’s This all means you should be able
doing so has created a screen that is it. No fiddling with gain to control to clear some clutter from your desk,
both unique and brilliant. blues, for example, not even an but Huawei ruins the MateView’s
First up, there’s the most obvious option to adjust contrast. Huawei clean lines by including the USB-C
difference: the design. I’m not just has calibrated the screen to DCI-P3 connector for laptops at the side.
talking about the way the screen (with 94% coverage in our tests) ABOVE Thestand There’s a rear USB-C socket, which
appears to hang in mid-air in front of and sRGB (98%), and you will darn boastsapowerfulpair sits alongside the other video inputs,
you, due in part to the slim bezel, or well like it. I miss not having a colour- ofspeakers,aswellas but that’s for connecting the chunky
the super-thin panel or even the temperature control – in both colour plentyoftilt external power supply. Note the two
stylish silver stand. I’m talking about spaces, this was around 6100K – but USB-A ports mounted on the side as
the aspect ratio, which moves away there is always that eye-saver option. well. Not only can these be used over
from the widescreen norm and If there’s one thing that Huawei a USB-C connection, but also if you’re
instead offers a squarer – almost can improve, it’s uniformity. I don’t connecting wirelessly.
old-school – 3:2 panel. normally discuss this as variations Despite the positioning of the USB
This makes a difference in tend to be within 10% or so, and that ports, I’m a fan of the stand. It’s solid,
practice. You can’t easily have three doesn’t make a visible difference, but the front-mounted speaker grille
windows side by side, but it lends here the variance was almost 20% RECOMMENDED adds panache, and it’s also practical

itself nicely to two concurrent around the outer edges. Will most “eTxhceerllee’nstshoemreuc–hthtehat’s thanks to 110mm of height
windows – and even better to a single people notice? Perhaps not, but it jcauosspntetifrciotelrssat,thtiheoe£–d5te9hsa9itgpinrt,icthe”e adjustment and plenty of
window if you want to focus on a contributes to a drop-off in viewing tilt. You don’t get support
document. I surprised myself by angles as you move away from the for portrait mode or any
how quickly I adapted after years of centre. It’s the one big blot on this swivel, but at 6.2kg the
using 32in widescreen monitors. In panel’s report card. MateView is relatively
fact, I much prefer it in Word and light and it moves
for web browsing. Not satisfied with HDMI, smoothly on a desk if you
DisplayPort and USB-C
The next big change connections, Huawei want to share your screen.
is to the controls. bakes in Wi-Fi 6 and The MateView isn’t the dream
Instead of Bluetooth 5.1 to give debut Huawei was no doubt hoping
traditional buttons wireless projection for, with the brightness drop-off
or joysticks, options. If you being a particular disappointment,
there’s a touch- have an Honor or and it’s hard to get excited by its
sensitive strip Huawei phone, wireless projection features. But
mounted under you can tap an LEFT Thetouch- there’s so much that’s excellent here
the bottom bezel. icon on the stand’s sensitivecontrolstrip – the controls, the design, the aspect
Tap this and the foot to activate a onthebottomisvery ratio – that it justifies the £599 price.
main menu appears, connection. Or if you easytouse Huawei hasn’t confirmed exactly
with a choice of eye own a Windows 10 PC, when it will be available in the UK,
comfort, brightness, you can use the wireless aside from “in the coming months”,
input source, gamut and display option to connect, but when it does land it’s well worth
settings. You slide left to select but there’s a lag and the effective adding to your shortlist. TIMDANTON
brightness (right up to 490cd/m in resolution drops significantly.
our tests) and then tap once to Huawei also includes a pair of 5W SPECIFICATIONS
activate it: and then you slide along speakers, which are surprisingly 28.2in 3,840 x 2,560 IPS panel up to 60Hz
again until you find the level you good. I would normally say stick to 6-bitplusFRCpanel(16.7millioncolours) 5ms
want. It’s incredibly simple. When podcasts and video calls at this point, responsetime HDMI2 mini-DisplayPort1.2
you’re done, you either wait for the but they have just enough punch and USB-C(powerdeliveryupto100W) Wi-Fi6
OSD to disappear or double tap to detail to make listening to music a Bluetooth5.1 2x5Wspeakers 2xmics
return to a previous menu. pleasant experience. There’s even a 2xUSB-A3 -5°to18°tilt 110mmheight
What Huawei doesn’t offer – and pair of noise-cancelling mics built in, adjustment 609x182x480-590mm(WDH)
again this is a philosophical difference and whilst they are echoey they 6.2kg 1yrlimitedwarranty

56

STORE.PCPRO.CO.UK Reader offer

Exclusiveoffer
Wforin£d6o9w.9s910Pro
Geta
CorlabimuyaWhiungdeo6w8s%10saHvoimngeofvoerrjuitsstR£R4P9.o9f9£219.99 FREEherearemanyreasonstobuya
separate copy of Windows 10.
Perhaps you’re building a new PC

Tfrom scratch or looking to moveup
uWpginr1da1odwetso

The OEM route is also a good choice if
you’re looking to upgrade from XP, Vista or
even Windows 7. XP and Vista users can’t
simply upgrade their install to Windows 10
from an older version of Windows. Maybe anyway, and while the option exists in
you want to run a version of Windows Windows 7, it’s not recommended for
alongside macOS or Linux. compatibility and performance reasons.
Whatever your reason, a Windows 10 Take advantage of the update to install a
OEM licence is a great choice. OEM stands fresh, pristine copy of Windows.
for original equipment manufacturer (think An OEM licence also fits the bill if you
Acer and Dell), and that means it’s tied to want to run Windows alongside another OS
one PC (so you can’t reuse the licence on a – either in a dual-boot configuration or in a
new build). But that’s reflected in a far lower virtual environment. In either event, it’s a
price: we’re offering Windows 10 Pro for just more cost-effective choice than splashing
£69.99, a £150 saving on Microsoft’s £219.99 out on a full retail licence. ahCnoladwimgteoytuoapudgrvrdicaeedaoel n
price for the retail version, or you can buy
Windows 10 Home for £49.99 versus the From Windows 10 Home to Pro
retail version’s list price of £119.99.
If you already own Windows 10 Home, an
The OEM difference OEM licence provides a way to upgrade to
Pro. This means you’ll benefit from
A Windows 10 OEM licence is perfect for additional features such as BitLocker, which
fresh installs. It’s the obvious choice for offers system-wide data protection by
those building a new PC from scratch – the encrypting your drives, including USB keys. We’velineduptwogreatofferswitha
lower price means you save money on the Then there’s Assigned Access, which gives minimumsavingof58%.Getasingle,
cost of your build – but you may also need a greater control over what users are able to non-transferableWindows10HomeOEM
fresh OEM licence if you’ve upgraded your do on a system, whilst Hyper-V allows you licenceforjust£49.99–that’safractionof
motherboard. Officially, Microsoft considers to run virtualised OSes within Windows the usual price (RRP £119.99).
that a new PC. without the need for extra software. Or, for just £10 more, you can buy a
single, non-transferable Windows 10 Pro
OEM licence for £69.99, saving you 68%
from the RRP of £219.99. These offers will
run through until 31 August 2021, but please
note that we have a limited number of codes
so buy early to avoid disappointment.
You’ll then need to download the latest
version of Windows (the May 2021 Update),
which you’ll use to create the boot media
(blank DVD or 8GB+ USB flash drive) you’ll
need to install Windows 10. On request, we
ABOVE Windows10OEMoffersthesamefeatures ABOVE YourWindows10OEMlicenceentitlesyou cangiveinstructionsonhowto“upgrade”
as a retail licence, but it’s tied to a single PC toallfutureWindows10updates–andWindows11 fromWindows10HometoPro.

Buy from the PC Pro store at pcpro.link/windows10

57

Reviews @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO

HUuAmnSnPodBanEe-fitrCf2oos7crrtqoadtntahGenbad4eltec2oat7ninivlnyditolyaffcikcsefor Whilst the stand ABOVE It’snota onscreen display.
looks dull, it is flexible. striking monitor, but The E7q G4’s
SCORE It smoothly pivots 90° there’s plenty of tilt OSD relies on
PRICE £229 (£275 inc VAT) – which is arguably and height adjustment four buttons
from hp.com/uk most handy for placed beneath
giving you access to the bottom bezel,
There’s no hiding from the fact the connections, and although it’s
that the HP E7q G4 is boring. including the easy to change the
From its plain grey stand to a four-port USB brightness or
bezel that measures 9mm thick at the hub – and 150mm switch between
top and the sides, it’s far more likely of height sources, as soon as
to increase the pulse of IT managers adjustment you go into the full
than it is the staff who end up with it means it should menu, navigation
on their desk. Unless you’re tick all health becomes a counter-
upgrading them from 4in Full HD and safety intuitive chore.
screens, in which case the bump up to checkpoints. The biggest issue
7in and a ,560 x 1,440 resolution for HP is that it
will be very welcome indeed. It goes above and beyond, too, doesn’t offer anything
thanks to an “always on” special for the price; you
With no USB-C input, this screen low blue light, which can buy even higher quality
wouldn’t be our top choice for theoretically means it will 7in 1440p panels – such as the £59
hotdesking. It’s better suited for be easier on the eyes. Iiyama ProLite XUB79QSU-B1 (see
desktop PCs and older laptops - issue 313, p79) – for less. But if you’re
there’s even a D-SUB input to Matching the pace set by the rest an IT manager and much of your
accompany the DisplayPort and of this monitor, the panel is a solid estate already has the HP badge, the
HDMI connectors. 7/10 rather than a spectacular 10/10. E7q G4 is a solid choice. TIMDANTON
It performed well in our colour
accuracy tests, averaging 0.48 for its SPECIFICATIONS
Delta E with a maximum of .3, and it 27in 2,560 x 1,440 IPS panel up to 60Hz
covers 98% of the sRGB gamut and 6-bit plus FRC panel (16.7 million colours)
81% of DCI-P3; strong scores for an 5msresponsetime DisplayPort1.2 HDMI
office monitor. Don’t expect searing 1.4 D-SUB 4xUSB-A3 pivot -45°to45°
brightness, however, with a peak of swivel -5°to23°tilt 150mmheight
33cd/m2, while contrast is a adjustment 613x47x366-516mm(WDH)
thoroughly average 944:1. 7kg 3yrlimitedwarranty

HP could learn a lesson from LG
when it comes to controlling the

LIA3wflP4eGsitxiSunh3ibrHm4apleDhironaiinRsgriUihtmnMol-gtqrmloruytanohaauaWlifitftntooyctirrdaodnmeEadbrQelsgeHoD button mounted
under the logo in
the middle of the
screen, and it’s
simplicity itself to
switch between
picture modes
(for example
Cinema or FPS),
tune brightness
and control the
audio from the
7W speakers.
SCORE They’re great for

PRICE £375 (£450 inc VAT) it’s always nice to see support for ABOVE Thearm radio and video calls, but too
from laptopsdirect.co.uk AMD FreeSync, a 5ms response time meansyoucaneasily fuzzy to enjoy music to its full.
and 60Hz refresh won’t thrill gamers. pull it closer to you and The one obvious omission is
This display’s most striking Instead, it excels for work. With then push it back a USB-C connector, and the
feature is obvious: rather than two USB-A ports are around
a stand, it comes with an arm 3,400 x 1,440 pixels across a 34in
diagonal, you have all the screen the rear – not the easiest
space you could ever want. Come area to access. Still, with a
mount that attaches to your desk. Windows 11 and its slick windows competitive price to match
This means you can push the screen management tool, it will be easy to its striking ergonomics, this is an
away when you don’t need it, pull it slip between having three screens side attractive screen for people who seek
close when you do. The 130mm of by side or your own custom setup. a flexible workspace. TIMDANTON
height adjustment helps too. My only caveat is that a 34in screen RECOMMENDED

The 34in IPS panel is tuned for the works more effectively if it’s curved, SPECIFICATIONS
sRGB colour space, and within those simply because you need to turn your 34in3,440x1,440IPSpanelupto60Hz 8-bit
confines it’s accurate: 98.3% coverage head if you want to read what’s on the panel(16.7millioncolours) HDR10support
with an average Delta E of 0.4 are the extreme sides of the screen. In LG’s AMDFreeSyncsupport 5msresponsetime
kind of figures I like to see. defence, this is where the arm mount DisplayPort1.4 2xHDMI2 2x7W
Others are more modest. Although comes in useful, as you can grab it and speakers 2xUSB-A3 armmountwithtilt,
this LG supports HDR10, with a peak move the screen sideways with ease. 130mm height adjustment, swivel, extend and
brightness of 330cd/m2 you shouldn’t LG also deserves praise for its retract 817x406x482-612mm(WDH)
expect eye-popping scenes. And while onscreen display. It’s controlled via a 10.8kg(withstand) 2yrlimitedwarranty

58

Momentum

Ofoprtnimceiozxendt-psgeorefloenrmgaancme ing

DESIGNED FOR

DESIGNED FOR

55”(139.7 cm), 4K console gaming display 559M1RYV

1444KHUHzD 2.1

MDeoftyo2r0o2la1

Irnugagweodrpldhoonfbermoakyenjussctrbeeepnesrafnedctcfroarcykoeudrbnaecekdss,this

SCORE With the relaunch of the long- ABOVE Thedisplayis partnership with
PRICE £233 (£279 inc VAT) from dormant Defy brand, could Motorola surprisingly dull for a rugged electronics
motorolarugged.com finally persuade customers that phone that’s designed brand Bullitt. The
rugged smartphones are cool again? for the great outdoors Defy has a “dual-
More than a decade has LEFT Thetextured sealed body
passed since the Motorola Hard as nails rear provides plenty housing”, which
Defy stormed onto a nascent of grip – even when means the phone is
smartphone market. The first of its The first question to ask is whether the phone is wet wrapped in two
kind, the Defy was a compact, rugged the Defy still has a place in 2021. In a casings: the inner
smartphone with the unusual ability market stuffed with sleek, all- casing is fully
to shrug off the bumps and scrapes of screen, glass-sandwiched handsets, waterproof, helping
everyday life. the Defy’s rough, rugged exterior the phone withstand
stands out like a bodybuilder at an dunks in up to 1.5m of
Despite many plaudits for its accountancy convention. water for 35 minutes, while the outer
rugged design, phones like the is designed for impact protection.
Defy haven’t taken off. But, of course, that’s for good That’s not all. Motorola says that
Sure, we’ve seen the reason. Not only has it achieved both the Defy has a structurally reinforced
occasional hardy PCB on the inside, and the screen is
handset from IP68 and MIL-SPEC-810H coated in a 0.7mm layer of Gorilla
construction certifications, but it’s Glass Victus.
firm Cat, also quoted as being A lot of attention has clearly been
and Motorola able to survive paid to the Defy’s overall design, too.
itself has extreme It’s made of plastic, but the criss-
attempted to temperatures cross textured rear has plenty of grip,
revive the idea between 55°C while the central fingerprint sensor is
of a rugged and -25°C, as located in a suitable position.
handset with its well as I particularly like the lanyard loop
Force range; but repeated at the bottom-left corner, allowing
these faded into drops from you to attach it to a bag or your wrist
history as well. heights of up for extra security. The bonus,
to 1.8m onto a programmable button on the right
60 steel surface.
Motorola
achieves this via a

@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Reviews

edge is yet another thoughtful touch; GEEKBENCH 5 (single core) GEEKBENCH 5 (multicore)
this can be assigned to launch a
specific app or even used as a XQuiaalocommimPSoncaopdFr3agon870 973 QXuiaalocommimPSoncaopdFr3agon870 3,303
push-to-talk button. OQunaelcPolmums SNnoarpddrNag1o0n 690 OQunaelcPolmums SNnoarpddrNag1o0n 690
GQuoaolcgolmemPSixnaepld4raagon730G 605 RETTEB SI REHGIH QGuoaolcgolmemPSixnaepld4raagon730G 1,866 RETTEB SI REHGIH
The only downside (aside from QSuoanlcyomXmpeSrnaiapd1r0agIoInI690 552 SQuoanlcyomXmpeSrnaiapd1r0agIoInI690 1,669
the inflated price) is that the Defy’s QMuoaltcoomromlSanDapedfryagon662 532 MQuoaltcoomromlSanDapedfryagon662 1,591
drop-friendly exterior adds a MQuoaltcoomromlSanMapodtraogGon96P6o2wer 315 MQuoaltcoomromlSanMapodtraogGon96P6o2wer 1,424
noticeable amount of weight and 313 1,420
thickness to the handset. At 232g,
the Defy is heavier than most GFXBENCH MANHATTAN 3 (onscreen) BATTERY LIFE (hrs:mins)
non-rugged phones and its 10.9mm
thickness means it feels a lump in QXuiaalocommimPSoncaopdFr3agon870 3,303 MQuoaltcoomromlSanMapodtraogGon96P6o2wer 26hrs 51mins
the hand as well. QGuoaolcgolmemPSixnaepld4raagon730G QXuiaalocommimPSoncaopdFr3agon870 21hrs 19mins
QMuoaltcoomromlSanMapodtraogGon96P6o2wer 1,866 RETTEB SI REHGIH MQuoaltcoomromlSanDapedfryagon662 20hrs 54mins RETTEB SI REHGIH
Muted display MQuoaltcoomromlSanDapedfryagon662 1,669 QSuoanlcyomXmpeSrnaiapd1r0agIoInI690 20hrs 30mins
QOunaelcPolmums SNnoarpddrNag1o0n 690 1,591 QGuoaolcgolmemPSixnaepld4raagon730G 18hrs 43mins
The rest of the Defy’s attributes aren’t QSuoanlcyomXmpeSrnaiapd1r0agIoInI690 1,424 QOunaelcPolmums SNnoarpddrNag1o0n 690 17hrs 35mins
much different than what we 1,420
typically see from Motorola’s budget
smartphones. This starts with the Motorola would no doubt argue is nice and neutral, too, and I was
display, which beneath that rough, that a fairer comparison is with Cat impressed with the phone’s blurred
tough exterior is a bog-standard phones, and the Cat S42 is the background portrait images. As a
6.5in, 720 x 1,600 IPS panel. cheapest of the bunch at £229. It final plus, the phone’s HDR
isn’t in the same league as the option is effective at taming
Unfortunately, it’s not much to Moto Defy, however, since it overly bright highlights
look at. Despite three display modes uses a weaker quad-core The Defy isn’t as good in
to select from in the phone’s settings, MediaTek Helio A20 chipset dark conditions, however.
they all offer pretty much the same with only 3GB of RAM and 32GB Images are noisy and there’s
viewing experience. The most colour of storage (we haven’t tested this a noticeable drop in detail.
accurate of the three (but only just) is ourselves, but online results show There isn’t much in the way of
the phone’s “Natural” setting, which video options, either, since the Defy
covers a disappointing 89% of the Geekbench 5 scores of is limited to Full HD at either 30fps
sRGB colour gamut, with a total around 125 and 450). ABOVE TheDefytakes or 60fps.
volume of 97% and an average Delta E detail-packed photos
colour difference score of 2.31. The good news is that in good light, but they Slam-dunker?
the Defy’s battery life is getnoisyafterdark The Motorola Defy is no ordinary
Overall, colours look muted. excellent, with the chunky handset. It can take one heck of a
Maximum brightness is also on the 5,000mAh battery helping beating and if that’s the sort of
weak side, with a measured peak the phone last 20hrs 54mins smartphone you’re looking for then
luminance of 399cd/m, which isn’t in our video-rundown test. I there’s no better place to spend your
ideal for an outdoorsy phone. don’t see any reason why money. It has an impressive battery
you shouldn’t be able to life, too, and looks that set
Mid-range speed squeeze two days’ worth of “bIetactainngtaankde,oifntehhaetc’sktohfea it apart from most rivals.
runtime from this phone
An equally humdrum with conservative use. Whether you decide to
Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 sfoorrtthoefnphthoenreey’soun’orebelototekring buy a Defy or not,
processor powers the Defy, Solid cameras place to spend your money” therefore, is entirely
alongside 4GB of RAM and dependent on whether
64GB of storage, which The Motorola Defy has a you can stomach its many
can be expanded up to an triple-camera array on the compromises. With
extra 512GB if you insert a rear, which consists of a uninspiring internals for the money,
microSD card. main 48MP (f/1.8) camera a so-so camera array and a bang-
and a pair of 2MP (f/2.4) average display, it’s far from being a
This delivers largely the macro and depth-sensing slam-dunk of a recommendation.
same level of performance units. The absence of an NATHAN SPENDELOW
as the £180 Moto G9 Power ultra-wide-angle lens is
(see issue 318, p72), which unusual, especially when LEFT Thetrade-off SPECIFICATIONS
employs the same combo of you consider that the Moto for toughness is a 8-core 2GHz/1.8GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon
core hardware. Android 10 G30 has one and it costs thickness of 10.9mm 662chipset 4GBRAM Adreno610
feels nippy but compared £130 less. and a 232g weight graphics 6.5inIPSscreen,720x1,600
with the £279 Google Pixel 4a resolution 64GBstorage microSDslot
(see issue 313, p60) and the Still, what you do get triple48MP/2MP/2MPrearcameras 8MP
£249 OnePlus Nord N10 (see isn’t bad for the money. The frontcamera Wi-Fi5 Bluetooth5 NFC
issue 317, p65), the Defy lags main camera captures 16MP 3.5mmaudio USB-C 5,000mAhbattery
behind, as the Geekbench 5 pixel-binned images by Android10 78x10.9x170mm(WDH) 232g
graphs above show. default and images snapped 2yr warranty
in well-lit environments
The same goes for gaming are packed with intricate
performance. The embedded details. The colour palette
Adreno 610 GPU did a good
job with the older GFXBench
Manhattan 3 onscreen
test, returning an average
frame rate of 33fps, but
struggled with the newer,
more demanding, Car Chase
benchmark, chugging along
at only 13fps.

61

fSehAlxaaosprgundespychtetoiXpr,sebpfwveceeaaarntmliuioafrewte1rhsaIeyIapoInrudi’cdael the 120fps slow-mo shooting at
is 4K with EIS engaged as well.
Video is mostly crisp and
judder-free, even during rapid
camera panning.

Unique design

“Long and thin” sums up
everything you need to know
about the design of Sony’s
Xperia 1. Its screen has an
SCORE aspect ratio of 21:9 and this

PRICE £999 (£1,199 inc VAT) means that, while it’s 165mm
from sony.co.uk tall – roughly the same as the
plus-sized Galaxy Note 20
The Sony Xperia 1 II (see issue Ultra (see issue 313, p58) – it’s
312, p62) was one of 2020’s nowhere near as wide,
most memorable phones, measuring only 71mm across.

If you wear jeans with small
albeit a rather expensive one at pockets, you might find that the
£1,099. The Xperia 1 III is even more Xperia 1 III pops awkwardly out
costly but, after spending a couple of of the top. But it fits nicely in
weeks with Sony’s new flagship, I the hand and I didn’t have any
can state without fear of issues reaching across the
contradiction that this is one screen with my thumb when
of 2021’s standout phones. And using the phone one-handed.
that’s mainly due to the camera. Even if I had, Sony’s floating
The rear camera array “Side Sense” dock can help:
incorporates a trio of 12MP lenses, double-tap the highlighted area
all at different focal lengths. Sitting of the screen and you can access
at the top is an ultrawide unit, a list of your most-used apps.
which has an equivalent focal length Design-wise, the Xperia 1 III
of 16mm. The main sensor in the is a carbon copy of last year’s
centre is optically stabilised and version but that’s no bad thing.
has a focal length of 24mm and an The “Frosted Black” model I
f/1.7 aperture. received for review befits its
The most exciting thing about this bokeh before you capture an image. ABOVE TheFrosted premium price: it looks good, feels
phone, however, is the third camera: Outlines around the subject are crisp, Blackmattefinish good, and thanks to a new matte
a 12MP telephoto lens that’s capable while facial details are spot-on. lookssmartacross finish it doesn’t show fingerprints.
of switching between 70mm and Capturing pictures of this calibre is the165mmexpanse A thumbprint sensor is helpfully
105mm focal lengths at the push of a almost effortless, too. Aside from the embedded in the phone’s power
button. Offering an equivalent optical portrait, I took the photos opposite button on the right edge of the phone
zoom range of 2.9x and 4.4x, this using the phone’s “basic” shooting and the dedicated camera shutter
“Variable Optical Zoom” system is mode in the Photography Pro camera button, which can be half-pressed to
achieved through a moveable lens app. For those who like to take finer focus, is another great addition. It’s
element that’s placed on top of the control, the app is filled with features nice to use a phone that doesn’t have
camera’s 1/2.9in sensor. The boffins and advanced options, with a similar a notch eating its way into the screen,
at Sony have cooked up something UI and settings to Sony’s full-frame too – the selfie camera is instead
unique here. Alpha cameras. located within a slim bezel at the top
My one complaint is of micro- of the display.
Real-world snaps blurring when using the zoom lens, The Xperia 1 III also includes a
During a misty walk in Ditchling but even this is only noticeable in 3.5mm audio jack, which is a rarity in
Beacon in the South Downs, I extremely sunny environments if you top-end phones nowadays. According
captured exceptional landscape shots crop into the image. to Sony, the Dolby Atmos-tuned “full
overflowing with intricate details, BELOW
including wispy cloud layers and III can record at up to 4K resolution at appisstuffedwith
leaf-packed tree foliage. But I was a variety of frame rates, including 24, featuresformaking
most impressed by the Xperia 1 III’s 30 and 60fps, with the option for themostofyoursnaps
ability to render colours almost
exactly as you see them.
As with its predecessor, the Xperia
1 III also has real-time eye autofocus
and up to 20fps burst-mode focus
tracking. Using this, I snapped some
impressive pictures of inquisitive
geese cooling off in Poplar Dock
Marina on a sunny evening.
Portrait pictures looked equally
terrific. There’s no dedicated portrait
mode for the rear cameras (only the
8MP selfie camera gets one of those),
but you can apply and adjust the

62

@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Reviews

GPHAOLLTEORY Captured from across the street, here’s a building in Here’s the same picture but zoomed in. Even at this level,
Limehouse Wharf. It’s a nice, bright day, but the you can see that the Xperia 1 III resolves detail well with
Here,wehighlighttheflexibilityof naturalistic colours are worth flagging. no annoying signs of compression.
theSonyXperia1III’scamera–
frombrickworktogeese

Thecameraisequallyathomeonscenicwalks,withthis Nopicturegallerywouldbecompletewithoutagoose, We expect great portrait photos from flagship phones,
imagetakenontheSouthDowns.Again,naturalcolours andit’sworthnotingthedetailedcaptureofitsfeathers and the Xperia 1 III is no exception. Note the subtle
aretheorderoftheday,despitethesubduedlighting. andtheshimmeringreflectionofbuildingsinthewater. bokeh effect, bringing the subject into sharp focus.

than last year’s, and they support luminance of 450cd/m in HDR video, little to improve the Xperia 1 II’s
Sony’s 360 Reality Audio format, too. the Xperia 1 III isn’t the best for woeful battery life. Surviving for a
watching HDR movies. As a point of 14hrs 43mins in our video-rundown
4K display reference, the iPhone 12 Pro, which test, the Xperia 1 III’s stamina is weak
Sony remains the only smartphone also has an AMOLED display, is compared with its main rivals, with
maker to include a 4K display on its capable of reaching HDR brightness the Galaxy S21 Ultra outlasting Sony’s
flagship phones. The Xperia 1 III’s levels of well over 1,000cd/m. battery-hungry flagship by more than
6.5in OLED screen is as good as it gets, eight hours.
with 10-bit colours, support for Flagship speed
HDR10 content, and a maximum Inside, Qualcomm’s latest flagship Final decision
resolution of 1,644 x 3,840. mobile processor, the Snapdragon ccg“Tooohlnooetdue6arns.st5,i,itsangunOepdLtpasEo,Dmrwtsaficxtorhirme1He0unDm-biRsi1ta0s
I use the word “maximum” here 888, is clocked at a speedy 2.84GHz resolution of 1,644 x 3,840” The Sony Xperia 1 III’s
because, depending on the settings and it works side-by-side with a poor stamina is
you choose, the pho ous 12GB of disappointing because
always display a 4K his much memory it’s otherwise a truly
image. In fact, if erkill for any exceptional handset. All
Sony needs to do now is
want to deploy the hone, swallow its pride, ask for
Xperia 1 III’s new pite what Sony less than what Samsung and Apple
120Hz refresh might say. are currently charging, and ditch
mode, it Scores of 1,134 the pointless 4K display in favour of
automatically and 3,672 in better battery life. Do that, and
drops to FHD+ Geekbench 5 are a there’s nothing to prevent Sony’s
resolution. I match for other phones from standing side-by-side
expect this is a top-end phones. with the best phones around.
battery-saving s games where LEFT Yougetarare For the time being, however, the
measure, but the e Xperia 1 III edges 3.5mmaudiojackand Xperia 1 III is simply too expensive
Galaxy S21 Ultra of the thespeakersarenow and too short-lived to recommend.
doesn’t need to do on: with the 40%louder NATHAN SPENDELOW
run the display at 120Hz. 120 refresh setting enabled
Colour reproduction is strong, (and, therefore, with FHD+ resolution SPECIFICATIONS
with an average Delta E of 1.15 in the enabled), the Xperia 1 III averaged 8-core 2.84GHz/2.42GHz/1.8GHz Qualcomm
phone’s “Creator” display mode, 116fps in the onscreen GFXBench Snapdragon8885Gchipset 12GBRAM
which targets the BT.2020 colour Manhattan 3 test, outperforming Adreno660graphics 120Hz6.5inOLED
gamut. That means even the most the Galaxy S21 Ultra by 23fps. The screen,1,644x3,840resolution 256GB
exacting of eyeballs won’t spot caveat here, of course, is that the storage microSDslot quad12MP/12MP/
any inaccuracies. Samsung was tested at its native 12MP/0.3MPrearcameras 8MPfront
The only small negative is that the QHD+ resolution. camera Wi-Fi6 Bluetooth5.2 NFC USB-C
Xperia 1 III’s display isn’t particularly Unfortunately, the Xperia 1 III’s 4,500mAhbattery Android11 71x8.2x
bright. With a measured peak larger 4,500mAh battery has done 165mm(WDH) 186g 1yrlimitedwarranty

63

STglfoohioovreeknsst,ypabtelXuheatepdniXseodnprra’eitpnarthgiha1oue0t1loab0IgreIarsdIastetpcsrhhiigkyoniincge At first glance, I was even
more impressed with the
camera’s photos; but then I
compared it to shots taken
on the Poco F3. While each
handset smooths over fine
detail when you zoom in,
Xiaomi’s phone loses less
information and – without
wanting to sound like a
broken record – is £70
SCORE cheaper. If photography is

PRICE £333 (£399 inc VAT) more important to you than
from johnlewis.com speed, both phones are
comfortably beaten by the
The Xperia 10 is that rarest of quality of the Google Pixel
things: an affordable Sony 4a, particularly in tricky
handset. This is its third lighting conditions.
iteration, and just as with the Xperia 1
There are areas where
the Xperia 10 III beats both
III (see p62) you can deduce that from of its rivals, though, and
the silly “III” appendage to its name. striking design is one of
It also shares its sibling’s unusual 21:9 them. Whilst this Xperia is
design, which, Sony is keen to point more curved than Sony
out, is the aspect ratio that two thirds phones of the recent past,
of Netflix’s movies are shot in. it’s angular by modern
In practice, the screen’s aspect standards. The back of the
ratio is a mixed blessing. For films handset is nice and simple,
shot in 21:9 then it’s a treat, with no with just the word “Sony”
black borders at all. However, TV in the middle and the traffic
series are filmed in 16:9 and this light-style camera array
means thick black borders on either neatly tucked into the top
side of the show you’re watching; left-hand corner. It might
far thicker than the ones you be plastic, but the back has
experience watching 21:9 content on a glassy sheen that’s very
a regular handset. appealing – until it’s
It’s a striking display, though. covered in fingerprints.
Measuring 6in, this OLED panel Speaking of which,
includes 1,080 x 2,520 pixels to give a storage – as the £249 OnePlus Nord ABOVE Therearmay authentication is done via a sensor
sharp density of 457ppi. Being an N10 (see issue 317, p65). Scores of 535 bemadeofplastic,but that’s comfortably built into the
OLED screen, it’s particularly good and 1,669 in Geekbench 5 are by no theminimalistdesign power button on the right-hand side
at painting inky-looking black levels, means awful, lining up almost is appealing of the handset.
and I can confirm that films look identically to the £349 Google Pixel 4a Sony also earns plenty of points for
stunning. Other screens are more (see issue 313, p60), but if you seek consumer-friendly design choices
colour accurate, with a mediocre speed then the £329 Xiaomi Poco F3 made along the way. It supports
average Delta E of 1.61, but it covers (see issue 322, p68) trounces all- microSD expansion (or
98% of the sRGB gamut and 82% of comers with scores of 973 and 3,303. “pitBa’sienpitnaignrtgaincinuOklLayEr-Dlloysogckorionedgenab,tlack you can use the slot for a
the DCI-P3 space. Its ltehvaetlfsi,lmansdloIockanstcuonnnfiinrgm” second SIM card), it has
notable weakness is a o complaints about IP68-rated waterproofing
maximum brightness ery life, with the and it maintains the
of 329cd/m², which 3.5mm headphone jack.
means you’ll struggle ria 10 lasting over
hours in our video- This is a beautifully
rundown test.
in sunny weather. The Xperia 10 III designed handset with a
One more thing: has a triple camera superb screen, but it’s
while a greater array made up of a hard to justify the price against such
number of mid-range 12MP (f/1.8) main lens LEFT Youcanboost tough opposition. If speed is your
smartphones are two 8MP units: storageviaamicroSD bag then the Poco F3 is as good as it
embracing screens wi for ultrawide shots orusetheslotfora gets, while the Pixel 4a remains the
90Hz or 120Hz refresh ) and another for 2x secondSIM picture-taking king. Either way,
rates, the Xperia 10 III oom (f/2.4). It can you’ll save £50 to £100 compared to
with 60Hz. I don’t see this as a deal- shoot video at 16:9 or 21:9 aspect the Xperia 10 III. ALANMARTIN
breaker, given the shortage of high ratios in both 4K or 1080p, and the
refresh-rate apps and games available recording is fully stabilised; but only SPECIFICATIONS
on the Play store – not to mention the 1080p 16:9 offers a buttery smooth 8-core 2GHz/1.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon
potential knock-on effect on battery 60fps. Image quality is generally BELOW There’s 6905Gchipset 6GBRAM Adreno619
life – but it means you lose the good, even if sudden camera pans and USB-Conthebottom graphics 6inOLEDscreen,1,080x2,520
slickness of higher refresh screens. changes of light give the stabilisation and,inaretronod,a resolution 128GBstorage microSDslot
This brings me to performance, a little trouble while it catches up. 3.5mmjackonthetop triple13MP/8MP/8MPrearcameras 8MP
which is a challenging subject for the frontcamera Wi-Fi5 Bluetooth5.1 NFC
£399 Xperia because it uses the same USB-C 3.5mmaudiojack 4,500mAh
Snapdragon 690 – backed by 6GB of battery Android11 68x8.3x154mm(WDH)
RAM and a generous 128GB of internal 169g 2yrRTBwarrantyviaJohnLewis

64

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only – isn’t made at the expense of security, via their own accounts, it supports up to 15 only have a limited number of
either. Bitdefender is a renowned security devices – which is far more generous than licences on offer, so head to
brand that won an Outstanding Product the competition – including Windows and pcpro.link/bitdefender sooner
Award for 2020 from antivirus specialists Mac computers, plus Android and iOS rather than later if you wish to
AV Comparatives (av-comparatives.org), mobile devices. take advantage.
and consistently wins PC Pro awards too.
ABOVE/RIGHT Bitdefender Family Pack 2021 is
Bitdefender underpinned by all the proven, award-
benefits from a
simple interface winning protection that Bitdefender is
and tools aplenty rightly renowned for. Windows users
get access to Total Security 2021, with
its core components such as antivirus,
firewall and anti-spam, as well as
proactive tools that offer protection
against everything from ransomware
and rootkits to online threats and
zero-day exploits.

There are also tools for maintaining
privacy, including
an anti-tracker, a
password manager,
file encryption,
VPN and parental
controls. And if that
wasn’t enough,
Bitdefender Family
Pack 2021 includes
a collection of tools
to help optimise your
PC’s performance,
including Startup
Optimizer and Disk
Cleanup.

Buy from the PC Pro store at pcpro.link/bitdefender

65

Ysoouftrwbaorneus £140tThoitsamlvoanltuhe
lWiceensccoeusrtothfuelglplorboegtroamnesgyootuiadteonth’tenbeeesdttsoopftawyaarpeednenaylsfofro.rHoeurrer’setahdiesrms,ofnrtohm’selixnteeunpded

Backup4all9Lite
Backup4all is an easy-to-
use and capable backup Full product
tool. The Lite edition is worth £25
aimed at home users, and backup4all.com

offers all the core REQUIRES
functionality most people Windows 7 or later;
will need. You can specify 150MB hard drive
the files and folders you’d space; online
like to back up and save registration
them to local, external or
network drives. There are
options to compress and password protect your
archives, and a simple scheduler can automatically
run your backup jobs every day, week or month.
Restoration is just as simple because your backups
are mirrors of the original files and folders, stored in
regular ZIP files. Open a folder in Windows Explorer
and you’ll be able to recover what you need in seconds.
The latest version brings a revamped, more
customisable and easier-to-user interface. You can
now suspend, cancel or stop all backup jobs and the
program can run scheduled jobs it might have missed.
There are also new tools to test and repair backups.

How to claim your bonus software
1Visit pcprodownload.co.uk. 2Once you’re in the download 3If the software needs 4Please be sure to install and
You’ll need to enter the coupon area, you can access this registering, click the purple register your bonus software
code printed on the spine of the month’s bonus software by Register button, or follow before the date that’s specified
cover(ordirectlyonthecoverif navigatingtotherelevantproduct theinstructionsontheleftofthe below. After this date, we can’t
you’readigitalsubscriber).Ifthere’s pageandclickingtheredInstall productpage(again,pleaseread guarantee that it will still be possible
no code on the spine, you have button.Fortrialsoftware,freeware thesecarefully).Insomecases,you to download or register this issue’s
boughtthe£4.99versionofPCPro, andotherdownloads,clickthe may need to register for a PC Pro bonus software.
whichdoesn’tincludeacode.Also Installbuttonbelowtheproduct softwarestoreaccount–ifyoudon’t
enteryouremailaddress.We’llthen description,orfollowtheonscreen alreadyhaveone–andyoumightbe AshwoaIfpnifvttylheweyortauahesrpengeeeiccsr@eootdroupnapcattbaopsiocsnrlntiosecui.toscsamdsonaue.ctueoseksr,?
sendanemailtoconfirmthatyour instructions(pleasemakesureto promptedtoreenterthecoupon
code has been registered. read these carefully). code on the spine or cover.

pRemcempberrtoocldaimoyowursonftwloareabyd30.Sceptoem.buer2k021

66

@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Bonus software

AshampooWinOptimizer18
WinOptimizer is a comprehensive PC clean-up,
maintenance and optimisation suite. If you’re short Full product
of drive space, it can remove leftover Windows and worth £45
application files, surplus browser traces, ashampoo.com

unnecessary duplicate files and broken shortcuts. A REQUIRES Windows 7
Disk Space Explorer helps you find other space- or later; 75MB hard
hogging folders, and the program can even defrag the drive space;
drive when it’s done to ensure you’re getting the best in-application
possible performance. registration

An array of other speed-up modules helps to
control your Windows startup programs, highlight
and disable unnecessary services, optimise your internet connection, clean
and defragment your Registry, remove unwanted applications, manage
running processes, and more.
WinOptimizer includes a whole library of maintenance modules, including
tools to benchmark your system speed, monitor drive health, control file
associations, edit Explorer context menus, save and restore your desktop
icon settings, and split, join, encrypt, decrypt, wipe and undelete files.

Acomp PDF Conversa 3 Abelssoft File Fusion 2021

Full product Full product
worth £20 worth £20
ascomp.de abelssoft.net

REQUIRES Windows REQUIRES Windows
7 or later; 100MB 7 or later; 70MB hard
hard drive space; drive space;
in-application in-application
registration registration

An easy-to-use tool for converting between PDF and Microsoft Word Scan an entire drive, partition or folder for duplicate files and identify
format files. unnecessary space hogs you can delete.
Security features include the ability to add a digital signature and prevent Goes further than regular duplication tools by analysing all the files on
your PDF being edited, printed or copied without entering a password. your computer automatically.
Cut PDF file sizes with picture quality controls, and apply lossless One-click option can scan your computer and automatically remove
compression to text. duplicates; undo option lets you wind back if necessary.

IobitAdvancedSystemCare14.5Pro O&O SafeErase 15 Professional

Six months Full product
of updates worth £20
worth £10 oo-software.com
iobit.com REQUIRES Windows7
REQUIRES Windows or later; 200MB hard
7 or later; 10MB hard drive space; online
drive space; online registration
registration

Everything you need to clean up, speed up and optimise your system, while Allows you to delete data fully from your drive, and overwrite it so it’s no
also performing a range of privacy and security tasks. longer recoverable.
Manual and AI modes allow you to tailor how much control you have over Choose from various deletion options, including methods used by the US
the process. Department of Defense.
Clean up personal data, remove unnecessary files and shortcuts, optimise Securely wipe all traces of internet browsing, cookies, downloaded files
memory and more. and more, including Flash Player cookies.

67

adUpMAdoosmveeteeasrsannn-hzftc’rotiWeaitnedlanoipEf-fdeeFiWlanyrittibu6oo-Furt6ieth6sseh–fouarlntdon

SCORE ardw re. Still, the margi isn’t
ABOVE Theplastic huge, and the Eero is mor than fa t
PRICE 3-pack, £233 (£279 inc VAT) nodesareamere99x enoug for domestic role – a
from pcpro.link/324Eero er system for 97mmsow n’tstick downl ad speed of 20MB/sec is
your original isables outlikeso ethumbs equiv lent to 160Mbits/sec.
If you’re familiar with Amazon’s most of its native features. I al o compared the E ro 6’s
original Eero mesh kit, the Eero 6
will hold few surprises. It’s The speed perfo o i-Fi 6
routers. The Asus RT-AX88U (see
We tested the Eero 6 triple-pack, issue 318, p86) costs around £280
almost identical, save for the fact that which contains two extenders and while the Asus RT-AX82U (see issue
this latest model supports Wi-Fi 6. costs £279. As ever with Amazon 318, p80) is available for roughly
The Eero platform emphasises ease products, you may find it cheaper £180. These routers don’t have to
of use, with a friendly smartphone during sale periods. You can also buy reserve bandwidth for a backhaul
app putting all network monitoring the router on its own for £139 and connection, and they all have
and management options quite extenders for £99 apiece. At this sort high-speed 4,800Mbits/
literally at your fingertips. However, of price the obvious rival is the cEa“nToteohlrfaoioermusirrsbtasi,tngcrbguayueinittnoyibgtfeamtdsboieftatfoameenwlrblseyohtnooahtuzte”ltrihneeg’s sec radios – so it was a
there are already plenty of Wi-Fi 6 TP-Link Deco X20 (see issue 318, p84), foregone conclusion that
meshes to choose from: does the Eero another dual-band Wi-Fi 6 mesh that they would outperform
6 stand out from the crowd, or is it a claims the same speeds and costs the Eero 6 over short
case of wireless meh? £230 for a three-unit kit. and medium-range
connections.
The basics For the best mesh performance What might surprise
The Eero 6 is a dual-b move up to a more
sive tri-band system you is how well the routers performed
802.11ax mesh syst s the Eero Pro 6 even at the far end of the house. In the
Each unit contains a but that’s only tough-to-reach bathroom, situated
2.4GHz radio rated ilable in the US at the back of the building and
at up to 600Mbits/ for the moment. obstructed by two thick walls and a
sec and a 5GHz Brits have other mess of copper piping, I obtained
one capable of options, including perfectly good speeds from the mid-
connections at up the user-friendly priced RT-AX82U and the RT-AX88U
to 1,200Mbits/sec. Netgear Orbi actually delivered faster downloads.
Unlike triple-band 752 (see issue LEFT Tweakingthe
systems, that single , p83)for £369, parentalcontrolsisa The styling
5GHz radio is used he more advanced breezeviatheintuitive The Eero 6 nodes are made of shiny
for exchanging data WiFi AX (see mobileapp white plastic. With a footprint of only
connected clients and issue 318, p87) for £424. 99 x 97mm they’re unobtrusive, and
forwarding traffic to and from other So, how does the Eero 6 hold up? I each one draws its power from a
nodes. This means that while the placed the main router in my study USB-C socket at the rear.
hardware technically supports with extender nodes in the adjoining The only other connectors are a
speeds of up to 1,200Mbits/sec, not all bedroom and the downstairs living pair of Gigabit Ethernet sockets at the
of that bandwidth will be available to room. I then took an HP Elite back of the router node. One of these
your devices. Dragonfly laptop around various connects to your modem, while the
The router and extender nodes can parts of my home and measured the other lets you connect a single wired
be bought individually, or in two or upload and download speeds when client (or a switch if you want to
three-unit packs. Amazon claims the copying files to and from a NAS BELOW Therouter connect more than one device). The
router alone should cover an area of appliance attached to the router over nodehastwoEthernet extenders don’t have Ethernet ports,
140m, while one extender doubles a Gigabit Ethernet connection. ports,buttheother so the Eero 6 can’t directly support
this to 280m and a second takes you You can see the res ts in the nodesaren’taslucky wired devices n other rooms.
up to a huge 460m. graphs opposite. It’s no On top of each unit, a single
As usual with mesh networks, the surprise that the Eero 6 multicoloured LED glows
Eero 6 is designed to connect directly can’t keep up with the wh te to let you know that
to a broadband modem, replacing Netgear and Asus sys s ev rything’s okay – or
your existing router. If you’re – they’re more expe e gr en, blue, yellow or red
currently using a combined modem/ tri-band meshes. But i s to ndicate various
router, you may be able to put it into a little embarrassing that, co ditions. The range of
modem-only mode, or you can allow in almost every loca , di ferent colours is
the Eero to run its own subnet inside the Eero 6 lagged behind mboozling at first, but
your existing network (this is known TP-Link’s Deco X20, means there’s no
as double NAT). You can also use the even though the two biguity as to what the
Eero 6 in bridge mode, effectively have ostensibly iden l ro is trying to tell you.

68

@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Reviews

The app LIVING ROOMDOWNLOAD (MB/sec) LIVING ROOM UPLOAD (MB/sec)

The Eero platform doesn’t support
web-based configuration. To set up AsusRT-AX88U 56 AsusRT-AX88U 41
and manage your new mesh network
you’ll need the Android or iOS app. Asus RT-AX82U 51 AsusZenWiFiAX 29 RETTEB SI REHGIH
RETTEB SI REHGIH
Happily, this works seamlessly: once AsusZenWiFiAX 49 TP-LinkDecoX20 28
I’d plugged in my Eero 6 units, the
app used Bluetooth to detect and TP-Link Deco X20 48 AsusRT-AX82U 26
register them automatically. As the Amazon Eero 6 41 NetgearOrbiRBK352 18

app links to your Amazon account, Netgear Orbi RBK352 38 AmazonEero6 15
most people won’t even need to set up
credentials; just provide a name and
passphrase for your network. BEDROOM DOWNLOAD (MB/sec) BEDROOM UPLOAD (MB/sec)
The main screen of the app shows
the status of your internet connection Asus RT-AX82U 47 AsusRT-AX82U 23

and your Eero nodes. Scroll down Netgear Orbi RBK352 44 AsusRT-AX88U 23
and you can browse connected RETTEB SI REHGIH RETTEB SI REHGIH
clients, or review ones that have Asus RT-AX88U 44 Asus ZenWiFi AX 16
recently been online. Asus ZenWiFi AX 36 TP-Link Deco X20 16

Handily, you even get a notification TP-Link Deco X20 31 AmazonEero6 15
on your phone whenever a new client Amazon Eero 6
connects for the first time. This makes 28 Netgear Orbi RBK352 11

it all but impossible for an intruder to
sneak onto your network.
The homescreen lets you create BATHROOM DOWNLOAD (MB/sec) BATHROOM UPLOAD (MB/sec)

and edit “profiles”, which are how Asus ZenWiFi AX 40 NetgearOrbiRBK352 14RETTEB SI REHGIH
the Eero manages parental controls. TP-Link Deco X20 26 TP-LinkDecoX20 14
Under each profile you can define one RETTEB SI REHGIH
or more “scheduled pauses”, during AsusRT-AX88U 25 AsusRT-AX88U 13
which internet access is blocked.
Profiles can be assigned to any device, Netgear Orbi RBK352 24 Amazon Eero 6 13
although each device can only have a Amazon Eero 6 22 Asus RT-AX82U 10

single profile applied to it. Asus RT-AX82U 14 Asus ZenWiFi AX 8
Buttons along the bottom of the
app screen access other pages. The
Activity view lets you explore each The final tab in the app is Settings, t“nEtooAeertesswoexidtt6oeeurifnpskrdgaocanlmoondvrdameioltrlauaoanrswgalgeyigen,settgi”hymyeoopuulre and you can get a
client’s bandwidth usage and track from where you can modify your high-end model for the
the speed of your internet connection, Wi-Fi name and security settings, same price as a mid-
while the Discover page lets you configure the guest network and so table mesh. Even if your
check in on any Amazon Echo devices forth. You can customise your DNS, old Wi-Fi 5 network was
on your network, and manage other DHCP and NAT settings too, and set slow and patchy, Wi-Fi 6
smart home appliances courtesy of up IP address reservation and port may give you all the
the Eero’s built-in Zigbee hub. forwarding. There’s little in the way coverage you need from a single unit.
There’s also a link to “Eero Labs”, of extras, however. Although the Eero If mesh is the right answer for your
where you can try out new features. app lets you monitor network traffic, situation, the Eero 6 has its strengths.
At the time of writing there are two there’s no configurable QoS to let you Aside from allowing you to extend
toggles on this page, to enable DNS prioritise certain devices or types of and target your network coverage,
caching and the latest WPA3 security traffic. Similarly, VPN connections it’s gloriously simple to set up and
standard respectively. It’s good to aren’t supported at the router level manage, and more than fast enough
have these options, but we’re not sure – you’ll have to install the software on for most internet connections.
why they’re still stuck in beta – other each client you want to protect – and Yet, while the app is snappy, it’s
routers have had full WPA3 support the router doesn’t integrate with short on advanced features, and
for more than two years. Dynamic DNS services. it rankles that the security functions
Wi-Fi settings are even slimmer. BELOW EeroSecure are extra. The dearth of Ethernet ports
The security You can turn on band steering but you blocksdodgysitesand is also an irritation. Meanwhile, the
The other big feature you can manage get no option to split up the bands, irritatingadverts,and TP-Link Deco X20 provides similar
from here is Amazon’s two-tier which could cause a problem for letsyousetfilters speeds (and more ports) for a similar
network security service. The basic some devices, and you don’t price. All this makes it hard
level is Eero Secure, which blocks have control over radio to recommend the Eero 6.
dangerous websites and (if you wish) frequencies and channel DARIEN GRAHAM-SMITH
adverts – and allows you to add widths. Advanced users are
category-based web filtering to your likely to find this frustrating. SPECIFICATIONS
profiles. A year’s trial is included with Wi-Fi 6 router plus 2 x Wi-Fi
the Eero hardware, after which it The verdict extenders 2.4GHz/5GHz
costs £3 a month or £30 a year. If you’re considering the dual-band WPA3/WPA2
For all-round security, you can Eero 6 for your next mesh encryption 2xGigabitRJ-45
step up to the Secure+ package. This system, the first question to ports(routeronly) upto
adds subscriptions to the 1Password ask is: do you need a mesh at 600Mbits/secover2.4GHz upto
password manager, Encrypt.me VPN all? The latest routers do an 1,200Mbits/sec over 5GHz
and Malwarebytes virus scanner, for impressive job of punching integratedZigbeeradio iOSand
£99 a year. It’s not bad value, but they through obstacles and Androidapps 99x97x61mm
aren’t the brands we’d have chosen. overcoming interference, (WDH) 1yrlimitedwarranty

69

(A2mnadzgoennE)choShow5Nbgsmouoottadtmrh-tvuesacEclhucreehoeofananSndhuocpwogm5rpaisadcestt,il a enough for this. ABOVE The1.65in should consider
Still, the Show 5’s the Echo Show 8
display is bright, with its 13MP
crisp and camera that can
colourful and, pan and zoom to
although the follow you around
resolution is the room.
nothing special
at 960 x 480, it’s A quick glance
perfectly sharp at at the rear reveals
the distances you’ll be viewing it there’s no longer a
3.5mm output jack. It’s also available
from. The touchscreen works well, driverinsideismore in a new colour (blue), and you
too, although I find I don’t typically suitedtoplaying won’t be surprised to discover that
SCORE use it beyond setting up alarms and podcaststhanpunk the price has gone up – a £5 increase.

PRICE £63 (£75 inc VAT) adjusting settings. At this price, the obvious competition
from pcpro.link/324echo Inside, a 1.65in full-range driver is Google’s 7in Nest Hub (see issue
pipes audio out from a grille on the 321, p64). This costs £90, comes with
This second-generation Echo bottom edge of the display. Sound sleep tracking and offers slick
Show 5 is the smallest smart quality is fine for radio shows, integration with Google
screen in the Echo range, podcasts and calls, with more than “bTrhigehSt,hcorwis5p’asnddiscpolaloyuirsful Photos, but lacks
enough clarity, and it’s a lot better a camera.
sitting below the £120 Echo Show 8 than your average laptop speaker. tvahnieedwditii’snstgpainetrcffereoscmytol”yu’slhl baerp at As a smart alarm clock
(see issue 323, p70). I’ve had the older However, you’ll find it lacking for for the bedroom, or a
model on my desk for some time and music: there’s plenty of mid-range compact radio for your
use it for listening to the radio, body, which helps with vocals and home office, the Echo
viewing the camera feed from my acoustic tracks, but bass frequencies Show 5 works brilliantly.
video doorbell, and as an intercom to sound limp. But if you aren’t going to use the
the rest of the house. Or you might The top edge holds buttons for camera, consider the Nest Hub
use it as a smart alarm clock, to make mute, volume up and volume down, instead. JONATHANBRAY
video calls (either via Alexa’s own plus a privacy shutter that blocks the
video call system or Skype, as Zoom camera. This is one of the few aspects SPECIFICATIONS
isn’t yet supported in the UK), or to of the Show 5 that has been upgraded, 8-core2GHzMediatekMT8183SoC 5.5in
view pictures you’ve stored in with a 2MP resolution rather than the 960x480touchscreen 1.65inspeaker
Amazon Photos. single-megapixel, 720p webcam of its 2-microphonearray 2MPcamera Wi-Fi5
While it can display movies and TV predecessor. It delivers a mild boost Bluetooth(A2DPandAVRCP) 146x73x
shows, the 5.5in screen isn’t really big to visual quality, but frequent callers 86mm(WDH) 410g 1yrlimitedwarranty

AS–nauootnhdtlikcedioheAimar1nn0aPkd8geo0perwlpqeCwnu3eta0reyl0bCiotcyoifsa,fnemeafxatcCtouep3lr-0eens0t either a stand ABOVE A115°viewing on and off, flip
or tripod. angle means you can the image
SCORE easily squeeze in your horizontally,
PRICE £67 (80 inc VAT) The camera family or friends and adjust the
from pcpro.link/324anker is capable of brightness,
capturing 1080p RECOMMENDED sharpness,
As with most webcams, you footage at up to saturation and
don’t get an awful lot with 60fps and you contrast.
the Anker PowerConf C300. can set it to 720p or The webcam’s dual microphones
Included in the small box is the 360p via the accompanying are located on either side of the unit
camera itself, which is attached to a Anker Work app (available for and these are supplemented by noise
1.5m USB-C to USB-C cable and a macOS and Windows 10) if reduction to filter out background
monitor clip, a couple of stick-on bandwidth is tight. The camera’s sounds. Buy a USB microphone if you
privacy shutters and a USB-C to maximum viewing angle is an want the best audio, but the Anker
USB-A adapter. impressively wide 115°, which is PowerConf C300 beats the
great if you need to get more than microphones in cheaper webcams
The clip allows you to quickly and one person into the frame. hands down.
securely mount the camera to the top I would have liked to see an
of a monitor or laptop display and it This can be adjusted manually integrated privacy shutter rather
also has a decent range of pivot and via the software if you want a closer than a stick-on cover, and it would be
tilt, which make setting the right crop on your face, or you can have it nice to have the option to disable the
angle very easy. Rubber pads prevent track your face automatically. This AI noise suppression. At £80, it isn’t
the camera from slipping out of place keeps one person’s face (or even a the cheapest 1080p webcam around
and there’s a 3/4in thread set into group of people) in the frame as they either. Still, aside from the streamer-
the stand’s base for mounting it on a move around and it works smoothly, focused AVerMedia PW315 (see issue
although you inevitably lose 321, p72), the Anker PowerConf C300
sharpness when the software digitally is certainly one of the most feature-
zooms in. packed. It’s a strong all-rounder.
JONATHAN BRAY
As for video quality, the colour SPECIFICATIONS
balance leans towards the warm 1,920x1,080streamingat60fps 115°field
side, even slightly yellowish, but the ofview 99x30x30mm(WDH) 130g
image is generally noise-free and any 1yr limited warranty
shortfalls in overall image quality
are compensated for by the flexibility
of the software. You can change the
resolution, toggle the HDR setting

70

@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Reviews

EotcAhofPsanwoOtclicSiurdaerAanlrenedhsdnaastanphcfdtefoloa2enrd6nmdpe0ahucbolttlineiopepnlseasir the Adapt 230 with a single However, they’re fine for
earpad, or the Adapt 261 work scenarios where people
that comes with a USB-C simply want to listen to
dongle rather than USB-A. BELOW They’revery some music between calls
All feature this headset’s comfortable to wear, and meetings.
prized possession: a noise- while the battery life is The physical controls
cancelling microphone. supreme at 27 hours also tie in well with Spotify,
This works extremely for example. Press down
well, subduing on the multifunction
background noise to an button and it will play or
indistinct hum. EPOS pause a track; press up or
SCORE prioritises clarity over down to adjust the volume; a

PRICE £79 (£95 inc VAT) nuance, so don’t expect double-press skips to the next
from ballicom.co.uk to sound like a Radio 4 track. It takes a little longer to
I announcer, but your voice master the other buttons. The
will be heard even if you’re in top one is geared towards calls,
f hybrid working is going to a busy café. including Microsoft Teams for
succeed in the long term, IT teams Everyone’s tolerance for which this headset is certified; for
must equip staff with technology over-the-ear headphones is example, you can use it to reject or
that will work just as well in the office different, but you accept a call depending on how long
as in their home. That sort of should find the soft you press it for. The
versatility is what EPOS offers with leatherette finish comfortable for c“TanhceeAlldinapgtm2i6c0r’ospnhooinsee- bottom one is for power,
the Adapt 260, a pair of wireless long periods at a time. The battery Bluetooth pairing and to
headphones that can simultaneously life is astonishingly good, with twsouobardnkuisninedgxisbttrainecmcktgehrlyuomuwn”edlln,oise mute the mic.
connect over Bluetooth with a phone EPOS’s claims of 27 hours per charge Better sound quality
and with a PC via the provided dongle. proving accurate in my tests. I also
This isn’t a novel approach. We like how the ear cups fold flat, with would have turned this
have seen it with many Bluetooth a carry pouch for easy travelling, four-star review into five,
but at almost half the
headsets, most notably the Logitech and the way the mic can swivel in price of its Logitech rival the EPOS
Zone Wireless (see issue 299, p69). either direction. Adapt 260 is a great choice for highly
However, that headset costs around Despite Sennheiser’s involvement mobile workers. TIMDANTON
£135 exc VAT from online retailers – it was part of the joint venture that
whilst you can buy the Adapt 260 for eventually spun out to become EPOS SPECIFICATIONS
£79 exc VAT. in its own right – bass is subdued and Wirelessstereoheadphones Bluetooth
EPOS also offers a greater variety I wouldn’t turn to the Adapt 260 if I USB-C(forcharging) noise-cancelling
of options. For instance, you can buy wanted to sink into an album. RECOMMENDED microphone 121g 2yrlimitedwarranty

EMXYESPOATGONUADRRTAEGSETPwtwWfohCherreoeyohpuotrahuguavethrne2rltaety5hhpoxedetuteiorar’irrpvpnnee,saaldswocleedoessrkrki,ivstneoogp
72

@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Labs Storage

Our computing needs just keep models take advantage of the latest PCIe Gen4 safe home for backups just in case your
getting bigger and bigger – but our bus to unlock phenomenal speeds, while others primary disk goes kaput. We test ten
C drives don’t. If you’re feeling the focus on value, offering a massive 2TB of fast contenders of all shapes and sizes, at capacities
squeeze, this month’s Labs is for storage for a very reasonable £241. ranging from 500GB to 4TB; we also explore
you. Whether you want to accommodate an whether a USB flash drive makes a viable
ever-growing media library or just make space If you want to expand an older PC or laptop, alternative, and look into the advantages of
for those essential backups, it’s easy and there’s still a good selection of SATA SSDs out NAS for home networks.
affordable to upsize your storage. On the pages there, offering storage that’s far swifter
that follow we’ll help you pick a path through and smoother than a mechanical drive at Whatever your storage needs, we’ve got
the dozens of options available. compelling prices. We put four through their you covered, with solutions ranging from £58
paces, and weigh up their subtle but important to £412. Read on for our biggest ever storage
For those looking to upgrade a modern distinguishing features. roundup and you may never need to confront
laptop or desktop PC – or build a new one – we the dreaded “disk full” error message again.
test a full range of M.2 SSDs using NVMe Then there’s the external option. USB drives Contributor: Darien Graham-Smith
technology to deliver top performance. Some are the most convenient way to add extra
storage to any computer, and can provide a

Contents SATA SSDs Toshiba Canvio Supporting cast
AdataUltimateSU800 ...................... 84 Advance.................................................87 10 questions to ask before
M.2 SSDs Samsung870QVO.............................. 84 Adata SE760 ........................................ 88 expanding your storage .....................76
WD Black SN850................................. 80 KingstonKC600 ................................. 85 Adata SE900G..................................... 88 Feature table ........................................78
WD Blue SN550 ................................... 80 Samsung870Evo ............................... 85 LaCiePortableSSD ............................88 Theflashdrivealternative ................ 83
CorsairMP400 ....................................81 External USB drives SamsungT7 .........................................89 How we test ......................................... 85
Corsair MP600 Pro.............................81 SamsungT7Touch .............................86 SanDisk Extreme Pro ......................... 89 NAS: the appliance of
KingstonKC2500 ................................81 SanDiskExtreme ................................86 Toshiba Canvio Flex............................ 89 storagescience ..................................90
Samsung970EvoPlus....................... 82 Seagate One Touch SSD .....................87 WDMyPassport ..................................91 Graphs.................................................. 92
Samsung980Pro............................... 82 WD My Passport SSD .......................... 91 ViewfromtheLabs............................. 93
SeagateFireCuda520....................... 82
WDBlackSN750 ................................. 83

73

1e0xpqaunedstiniognysotuorasstkobreafgoere

Buying a new SSD is fraught with danger, whether it’s choosing the incorrect interface,
spending too much or choosing the wrong route. Here’s how to find the right drive

1 AormeIxltoeorknianlgsftoorraingtee?rnal ABOVE Can’tupgrade SATA drives aren’t the fastest There’s just one gotcha to look out
yourinternalSSD? option, however. They’re faster than for: there are a handful of drives that
If you have the option of expanding Don’tpanic:thereare a mechanical drive, but the SATA bus use the M.2 format but connect over
your internal storage, that’s normally speedyUSBoptions itself has a maximum speed of around the SATA bus. Check that your chosen
the neatest solution. It’s likely to 550MB/sec, well below what SSD M.2 drive supports NVMe, or you’re
give you the best performance too, as chips are capable of. likely to get far lower speeds than
your new drive will be connected That’s where the card-style M.2 you’d hoped for.
directly to the motherboard. Most design comes in. This newer standard
desktop computers have space for you fits directly into a slot on co4nneSacodtrdoiorvseI ojtunosmmt nayetPecCdh?ttohebuy
to install a second disk to work aWah“Mlasoivennoecdgsosotsnpwidddaeeschseydkaorfrtoiuodvrrpdeyec”isoxokuimstttpooiunwitngeosrtrsakll your motherboard and
alongside your existing Windows supports a technology Not necessarily. If your desktop PC
drive. Alternatively, you might prefer called NVMe, which lets lacks a spare M.2 slot, you can buy a
to move your system wholesale onto a the SSD transfer data cheap NVMe adapter card that plugs
new, bigger drive: this keeps things over a PCI Express x4 into a spare PCI Express slot. It’s not
simple, and if you pick a fast SSD then connection. Huge read always possible to boot from a drive
it can yield a noticeable performance and write rates of around installed in this way, however –
boost. It’s not hard to “clone” your 4GB/sec over PCI Express Gen3 thus that’s down to your BIOS – and you
current system drive onto a new become possible – rising to 8GB/sec will want to use an x4 slot (or higher)
model (see our feature on p38). if you have a recent PC that supports or you won’t get the drive’s full
the latest Gen4 interface. While very performance. You can also buy bare
With many modern laptops and BELOW M.2SSDsare few M.2 SSDs come close to those enclosures that connect a SATA or
all-in-one systems, the main SSD is oftenthefastest,but theoretical speeds, it’s enough M.2 drive to a USB port.
soldered in place, so your only thesmallprintcan headroom to allow even the cheapest
expansion option is to attach external catch you out model to outpace any SATA drive. If performance is a priority for an
storage via USB. That’s not a problem external drive, check the
– the latest USB 3 drives are fast connection details – the
and just as capacious as their internal original USB 3 standard
counterparts. However, you can’t supports a maximum
boot Windows or run applications off transfer speed of 600MB/
an external drive, so any performance sec, but more recent
boost will be quite limited. revisions offer higher
rates of 1.2GB/sec and
2 DmoeIcwhaannitcaanldSrSivDeo?ra 2.4GB/sec. Unhelpfully,
these standards have
In almost all cases we’d go for an had different names at
SSD: they’re faster, lighter, smaller different times, but right
and more reliable than traditional now the three variants are
mechanical disk technology. officially called USB 3.2
However, they’re also much more
expensive on a per-gigabyte basis, so
mechanical drives can still be a
sensible choice if capacity is more
important than performance – this
month, we test two 4TB hard disks
costing under £90, while an SSD of
the same capacity will set you back
at least £300.

3 Wbehtawte’setnhSeAdTifAfearnednMce.2?

Drives manufactured to the 2.5in
SATA standard use the same fittings
and connectors as found in older
laptops and compact PCs – so if you
have a machine that’s trundling along
with a small, slow hard disk, a SATA
drive is an ideal drop-in replacement.
You can also install a 2.5in SATA drive
into a full-size desktop PC, although
you may want to buy a bracket to fit it
neatly into a 3.5in bay.

74

@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Labs Storage

Gen 1, USB 3.2 Gen 2 and USB 3.2 Gen ABOVE Ifyou’re We would also advise against information. What’s
2x2 respectively. You can plug any playinghugegamesor rushing to buy the top-performing more, using an
USB drive into any USB port, but to editingphotos,2TBis SSD in all circumstances. Yes, if encrypted drive can
achieve top speeds the socket needs your best bet you’re looking for a new system drive complicate things if
to match (or exceed) the standard from which to run Windows and all you want to repair or
used by the drive. If your desktop PC your applications then you’ll want upgrade your own PC.
is stuck with an older standard, you one that’s fast at both sequential and Still, there’s no harm in
can add Gen 2 or Gen 2x2 support via random access (see “How we test” choosing a drive with
a PCI Express card. on p83). However, if you’re buying a hardware encryption
secondary drive to house your – you don’t have to
5 DSLoCInvseeMdLtCo?worryabout collection of home videos and turn it on if you don’t
backed-up spreadsheets then want to.
In the early days of consumer SSDs sequential performance
there was much debate about the wd“raMedoeavnadre’tnerabuctnlfioisdanmecwdmttlhuryeirettnereedrussststphitpematrehtaodeytusesod,edulby”ut won’t make a huge 9 Wenhdautriasnwcrei?te
merits of SLC versus MLC. SLC difference to your
(single-level cell) drives store a single experience, and random- The memory chips
bit of data in each physical memory access speeds are almost inside an SSD have a
location, while MLC (multi-level cell) an irrelevance. It might finite lifespan. Each
drives store two or more. This makes be smarter to put the time the controller
MLC chips cheaper to manufacture money towards a drive electrically reprograms
than SLC, but it also makes them that’s slower but bigger. one of them, it becomes
slower and reduces their lifespan. a tiny bit less reliable;
8 Do I need encryption? eventually the drive will start to
Today, MLC technology has come generate errors, or just die altogether.
on in leaps and bounds and most of Several SSDs provide hardware Write endurance is a
the drives in this month’s Labs encryption – in fact, you may already manufacturer’s estimate of how
actually store three or four bits per be using it without realising. That’s much data you can write to the drive
cell. Does it matter? Not in isolation. because all data is automatically, before that becomes a realistic
The important things, as always, are instantly encrypted at the point that concern. It’s measured in terabytes
price, performance and endurance. BELOW SATASSDs it’s written to the drive and decrypted written, or TBW: most 1TB SSDs
If those meet your requirements, canprovideaninstant whenever it’s read back. promise an endurance figure of
there’s no need to worry about the speedboostforalong- So what’s the point? The 600TBW, scaling up or down with
underlying architecture. in-the-toothmachine encryption key is typically stored in capacity. Once you pass the TBW
ur motherboard, and limit, your warranty expires
6 HdoowInmeeudc?hspace the BitLocker function (regardless of when you bought the
s 10 Pro (or, for drive) and all bets are off.
There’s no single answer to that s 10 Home users, the You can check how many
question. For most people, a terabyte ice encryption” tool gigabytes a drive has read and written
of total storage will probably suffice he Settings app). That using a free tool like CrystalDiskInfo,
for personal data, but if you like to s, if someone were available from crystalmark.info. In
play big games or edit collections of to steal the drive and practice, most consumer SSDs won’t
photos or videos, 2TB makes sense. plug it into a different ever reach their stated endurance –
If you choose a drive with plenty of computer, the key they’ll be replaced first with bigger,
headroom, you can also use the space would be missing, and faster models.
for Windows’ File History feature, they wouldn’t be able to Nevertheless, it’s worth taking
which lets you browse and recover any of the data reliability seriously: if a drive does fail
old versions of files and folders. ored on it. – whether it’s in or out of warranty –
It’s easy to see why it’s very hard to get your data back.
When estimating your needs, err es like this idea, but TBW provides a relative indication of
on the liberal side. Data has a habit of viduals it’s unlikely that whether a particular drive is likely to
growing to fill the available space, going to try to steal your stand up to heavy usage or whether
and you won’t be happy if you end up it’s best reserved for a lightweight
having to upgrade again a year down role – but you should keep backups
the line. Invest in enough capacity to in all cases.
push that day off into the far future
– that way, when the time finally 10 DsoofItwneaerdee?xtra
comes, you can feel good
moving up to a next-gene Some SSDs manufacturers provide
drive that’s bigger and software downloads for things such
than anything you could as monitoring your drive’s health or
afford today. managing hardware encryption
settings. With external drives, you
7 WdohIantesepde?ed might get a free backup utility.
There’s nothing wrong with these
Manufacturers proudly tools, but don’t let them influence
advertise the estimated your buying choice: the same things
read and write speeds can be achieved with free tools or
of their drives, but we features already built into Windows,
recommend that you and for the basic task of installing,
don’t blindly trust these formatting and using a new hard
figures: as you’ll see from disk you don’t need any extra
our graphs on p92, they software at all.
don’t always square with
you’ll see in actual use.

75

M. SSDs Corsair Kingston Samsung RECOMMENDED WD Black LABS WINNER RECOMMENDED Kingston Samsung
MP600 KC500 970 Evo SN750 KC600 870 Evo
Corsair Pro Plus Samsung Seagate WD Black SATA SSDs
MP400 980Pro FireCuda SN850
WDBlue Adata
Price and supplier 50 SN550 Ultimate

Rating SU800
Modelnumber MP400
MP600PRO SKC2500 MZ-V7S500 SSD980PRO ZP500GM WDS200 WDS100 WDS100 SU800 SKC600 MZ-77E500
M81000G T3XHC T1X0E T2B0C 1024G

Price as £201 (£241 £343 (£412 £95 (£114 £61 (£73 £154 (£185 £66 (£79 £232 (£278 £140 (£168 £70 (£84 £93 (£112 £94 (£113 £48 (£58
reviewed  inc VAT) inc VAT) inc VAT) inc VAT) inc VAT) inc VAT) inc VAT) inc VAT) inc VAT) inc VAT) inc VAT) inc VAT)
Capacity 2TB 2TB 1TB 500GB 1TB 500GB 2TB 1TB 1TB 1TB 1TB 500GB
tested 1TB 250GB, 250GB, 1TB. 250GB, 1TB, 2TB 250GB, 500GB, 2TB 250GB, 128GB, 256GB, 250GB, 1TB,
Other 1TB, 4TB, 8TB 500GB, 2TB 2TB 500GB, 2TB 500GB, 1TB, 500GB, 2TB 256GB, 512GB 512GB, 2TB 2TB, 4TB
capacities pcpro. pcpro. pcpro. pcpro. pcpro. 4TB pcpro. pcpro. pcpro. pcpro. pcpro.
link/324mp6 link/324kc2 link/324sam1 link/324sam2 link/324fire pcpro. link/324sn8 link/324sn5 link/324su8 link/324kc6 link/324sam3
Supplier pcpro. corsair.com kingston.com samsung. samsung. seagate.com link/324sn7 western western adata.com kingston.com samsung.
link/324mp4 5yr 5yr com com 5yr western digital.com digital.com 5yr 5yr com
5yr 5yr digital.com 5yr 5yr 5yr
Manufacturer’s corsair.com NVMe NVMe NVMe 5yr SATA SATA
website PCIe Gen4 PCIe Gen3 NVMe NVMe PCIe Gen4 NVMe NVMe SATA 6Gbits/ SATA 6Gbits/ SATA
TLC TLC PCIe Gen3 PCIe Gen4 TLC NVMe PCIe Gen4 PCIe Gen3 sec sec SATA 6Gbits/
Warranty 5yr 1,863GB 932GB TLC TLC 466GB PCIe Gen3 TLC TLC TLC TLC sec
7,000MB/sec 3,500MB/sec 466GB 932GB 5,000MB/sec TLC 932GB 932GB 954GB 954GB TLC
Technical features 6,850MB/sec 2,900MB/sec 3,500MB/sec 7,000MB/sec 4,400MB/sec 1,863GB 7,000MB/sec 2,400MB/sec 560MB/sec 550MB/sec 466GB
1,400TBW 600TBW 3,300MB/sec 5,000MB/sec 850TBW 3,100MB/sec 4,100MB/sec 1,950MB/sec 520MB/sec 520MB/sec 560MB/sec
Type NVMe 300TBW 600TBW 2,600MB/sec 600TBW 600TBW 800TBW 600TBW 530MB/sec
M.2 Key M M.2 Key M M.2 Key M 1,200TBW 300TBW
Datainterface PCIeGen3 23 x 80 x 22 x 80mm M.2 Key M M.2 Key M 22 x 80mm M.2 Key M M.2 Key M SATA data, SATA data,
15mm N/A 22 x 80mm 22 x 80mm N/A M.2 Key M 22 x 80mm 22 x 80mm SATA power SATA power SATA data,
SEA tib-652 si noitpyrcne erawdrah llA 2 egnahc ot tcejbus era tub sserp ot gniog fo emit ta tcerroc secirP 1Memorycell QLC N/A N/A N/A 22 x 80mm N/A N/A 70 x 100 x 70 x 100 x SATA power
type N/A 7mm 7mm 70 x 100 x
Formaed 1,863GB Black Black 7mm
capacity Black
Claimedmax 3,400MB/sec
read speed
Claimedmax 3,000MB/sec
write speed
Enduranceas 400TBW
reviewed
Hardware
encryption 

Physical design

Connectors M.2KeyM

Dimensions 22x80mm

Colouroptions N/A

Drop/shock 1500G 1500G Notstated 1500G/0.5ms 1500G/0.5ms 1500G/0.5ms Notstated Notstated 1500G/0.5ms 1500G/0.5ms Notstated Notstated
resistance

Extras

Bundled AcronisTrue Samsung Samsung SeaTools Acronis Acronis Acronis Adata SSD Samsung
software ImageHD Magician Magician True Image True Image True Image Toolbox Magician
WD, SSD WD, SSD WD, SSD
Dashboard Dashboard Dashboard

Supplied Heatsink
accessories (aached)

76

@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Labs Storage

RECOMMENDED LaCie RECOMMENDED RECOMMENDED RECOMMENDED RECOMMENDED
Portable
EXTERNAL USB DRIVES SSD Samsung Samsung SanDisk SanDisk Seagate Toshiba Toshiba WDMy WDMy
T7 T7Touch Extreme Extreme OneTouch Canvio CanvioFlex Passport Passport
Samsung Adata Adata SSD Advance
870QVO SE760 SE900G Pro SSD

MZ-77Q2T0 SE760 SE900G STHK MU-PC500T MU-PC500S SDSSDE61- SDSSDE81- STKG500400 HDTCA20 HDTX140 WDBPK WDBAG
1000800 1T00-G25 1T00-G25 EG3AA ESCCA J0040 F0010
BBK-WESN BGY-WESN
£129 (£154 £102 (£122 £63 (£75 £110 (£132 £49 (£59 £53 (£64 £98 (£118 £150 (£180 £92 (£110 £47 (£56 £75 (£90 £68 (£82 £117 (£140
inc VAT) inc VAT) inc VAT) inc VAT) inc VAT) inc VAT) inc VAT) inc VAT) inc VAT) inc VAT) inc VAT) inc VAT) inc VAT)
2TB 1TB 512GB 1TB 500GB 500GB 1TB 1TB 1TB 2TB 4TB 4TB 1TB

1TB,4TB,8TB 256GB, 1TB,2TB 500GB,2TB 1TB,2TB 1TB, 2TB 250GB, 2TB,4TB 500GB,2TB 1TB,4TB 1TB, 2TB 1TB,2TB,5TB 500GB,2TB,
512GB, 2TB 500GB, 2TB 4TB

pcpro. pcpro. pcpro. pcpro. pcpro. pcpro. pcpro. pcpro. pcpro. pcpro. pcpro. pcpro. pcpro.
link/324sam4 link/324se7 link/324se9 link/324lac link/324sam5 link/324sam6 link/324san1 link/324san2 link/324sea link/324tosh1 link/324tosh2 link/324wd1 link/324wd2
samsung. adata.com adata.com lacie.com samsung. samsung. western western seagate.com toshiba- toshiba- western western
com com com digital.com digital.com storage.com storage.com digital.com digital.com
5yr 3yr 5yr 3yr 3yr 3yr 3yr 5yr 2yr 2yr 3yr 3yr 5yr

SATA External External External External External External External External External External External External
SATA 6Gbits/ USB 3 USB 3 USB 3 USB 3 USB 3 USB 3 USB 3 USB 3 USB 3 USB 3 USB 3 USB 3
sec (10Gbits/sec) (20Gbits/sec) (5Gbits/sec) (10Gbits/sec) (10Gbits/sec) (10Gbits/sec) (20Gbits/sec) (10Gbits/sec) (5Gbits/sec) (5Gbits/sec) (5Gbits/sec) (10Gbits/sec)
QLC Not stated Not stated Not stated Not stated Not stated Not stated Not stated Not stated Not stated Not stated Not stated Not stated

1,863GB 954GB 465GB 932GB 466GB 466GB 931GB 931GB 932GB 1,863GB 3,726GB 3,726GB 931GB

560MB/sec 1,000MB/sec 2,000MB/sec 540MB/sec 1,050MB/sec 1,050MB/sec 550MB/sec 1,050MB/sec 1,030MB/sec 625MB/sec 625MB/sec Notstated 1,050MB/sec

530MB/sec 800MB/sec 2,000MB/sec 540MB/sec 1,000MB/sec 1,000MB/sec Notstated Notstated 1,030MB/sec 625MB/sec 625MB/sec Notstated 1,000MB/sec

720TBW Notstated Notstated Notstated Notstated Notstated Notstated Notstated Notstated Notstated Notstated Notstated Notstated

SATA data, USB-C USB-C USB-C USB-C USB-C USB-C USB-C USB-C micro-USB3 micro-USB3 micro-USB3 USB-C
SATA power 57 x 110 x
70 x 100 x 44 x 122 x 66 x 111 x 79 x 94 x 57 x 85 x 57 x 85 x 50 x 96 x 10mm 50 x 70 x 78 x 109 x 80 x 111 x 75 x 107 x 55 x 100 x
7mm 14mm 17mm 9mm 8mm 8mm 9mm Black 11mm 14mm 19.5mm 19mm 9mm
Grey Black, grey Black Black Black, blue, Black, Silver Black, sky Blue, gold,
Blue,grey,red Black,silver Black 1500G silver crimson, blue, red grey, red,
pearl, teal Not stated silver
1500G/0.5ms Notstated Notstated 2m 2m 2m 1500G Not stated Not stated Not stated 2m

Samsung LaCie Toolkit Samsung Samsung SanDisk Seagate Sync Backup and WDDiscovery WDDiscovery
Magician USB-C to Portable Portable Secure Plus, Mylio password micro-USB3 USB-Cto
USB-C cable, SSD suite SSD suite Access Create (1yr), software toUSB-A USB-Ccable,
USB-C to USB-C to USB-C to USB-C to USB-C to USB-C to USB-C to Adobe (Windows micro-USB 3 cable USB-A
USB-C cable, USB-C cable, USB-A cable USB-C cable, USB-C cable, USB-C cable, USB-C cable, Creative only) to USB-A
USB-C to USB-C to USB-C to USB-C to USB adapter USB-C to Cloud micro-USB 3 cable, adapter
USB-A cable USB-A cable USB-A cable USB-A cable USB-A cable Photography to USB-A micro-USB 3
(4 months) cable to USB-C
USB-C to cable
USB-C cable,
USB-C to
USB-A cable

77

sDSS 2.M WcgAcoorlemsiDgtahetBttshanlewadinedcitga-kho-rfnSatahsNss–et8lSae5nSc0dDtidothnoaeotsfn’t

SCORE the PCMark storage benchmarks it ABOVE Ifyourboard Whichever model you go for, you
PRICE 1TB, £140 (£168 inc VAT) achieved solid first-place rankings, supportsPCIeGen4, get a custom edition of Acronis True
from pcpro.link/324sn8 scoring 3,502 in the system disk test theSN850offers Image, licensed for five years on both
and 5,984 as a data disk. unbeatable speeds Windows and macOS. It’s an excellent
READSPEED 5,746MB/SEC Despite these amazing figures, add-on that can simplify the process
5,085WRITESPEED MB/SEC the SN850 is pretty affordable. True, of cloning your old system drive onto
the 1TB model we tested costs around the new SSD, and take care of backups
f you’re upgrading or building a twice as much as WD’s budget Blue once you’re up and running.
PC, the WD Black SN850 makes a SN550 drive, working out to 18p per
gigabyte. It’s hard to complain about Note that the phenomenal
Isuperb system drive. It takes that when you’re getting more than performance of the WD Black SN850
double the performance. There’s also is enabled by the PCI Express Gen4
advantage of the huge bandwidth of a 500GB model for £80 inc VAT, while interface. If you install it in an older
the PCI Express Gen4 bus to offer the 2TB capacity can be had for £340. PC using PCI Express Gen3 it will still
performance rival SSDs can’t match: Uniquely, WD also offers variants work, but in this configuration we
in our tests it achieved a sequential of all SN850 models with integrated saw read speeds peak at 3,091MB/sec,
read speed of almost 6GB/sec, and heatsinks to ensure things stay fast while the overall system drive score
topped 5GB/sec when writing. and stable during gaming sessions or fell to 2,883. At that point, cheaper
other heavy workloads. This adds a lot alternatives like the £114 Kingston
Multi-threaded performance is to the price – the 1TB model costs £234 KC2500 start to look tempting.
excellent too. In AS SSD’s 64-thread – and we’re not convinced it’s
random-access test, the SN850 kept necessary as the standard drive If your motherboard supports PCIe
up a read speed of 2,906MB/sec and a romped through the intensive Gen4, however, splash out on the WD
write rate of 2,805MB/sec. In both of PCMark benchmarks without a hitch. Black SN850. It’s the fastest drive
around, while the bundled software
makes it easy to install and use.

WSsImftNyaoD5osru5saBig’0vrleeueis-ednhaaouSbttnNaadgbre5ragay5salgi0einnasgm,twheisethor

SCORE NVMe architecture. Real-world ABOVE It’scheap,but Probably the more significant
PRICE 1TB, £70 (£80 inc VAT) performance benefits as well: in the it’s not flimsy with a issue is speed. While the SN550 is a
from pcpro.link/324sn5 PCMark system drive benchmark, the 600TBW rating for perfectly good performer, it sits at the
Blue SN550 scored a creditable 1,668. the 1TB model bottom of its class. Every other NVMe
READSPEED 2,221MB/SEC SSD this month delivered faster read
1,905WRITESPEED MB/SEC WD hasn’t skimped on the RECOMMENDED rates, and almost all were speedier at
trimmings. As with the WD Black writing too. As a result, in the PCMark
hile WD’s Black SN850 SN850, the Blue drive comes with a data drive test its score of 1,192 was
drive takes the crown for complimentary download of Acronis by far the lowest of any M.2 drive. If
True Image for Western Digital, you’re using a modern motherboard
Wperformance, the Blue which can simplify the process of that supports PCIe Gen4, there are
migrating your system onto your new alternatives that are two and even
SN550 focuses on value. A street price drive, and provide backup services for three times as fast.
of £80 inc VAT for the 1TB model up to five years thereafter. That’s also
works out to a mere 9p per gigabyte, how long the warranty lasts – this Yet, if you rarely play games and
making this very nearly the cheapest drive may be cheap, but it’s intended don’t work with huge databases, the
SSD here – only Samsung’s SATA- to keep going for just as long as WD’s difference between this SSD and those
based 870 QVO undercuts it. high-end SSDs, and the 1TB model has range-topping contenders won’t be
a 600TBW endurance rating. that noticeable. The Blue SN550 is fast
When it comes to performance, the enough to keep Windows and desktop
WD Blue leaves the QVO in the dust. By now you might well be applications smooth and responsive,
Its sequential read and write speeds wondering what the catch is. One and for many roles, that’s all you
are around four times as fast as any minor point to note is that none of need. This little SSD provides a major
SATA drive, thanks to the far superior WD’s M.2 SSDs support hardware speed boost over legacy SATA drives
encryption, so if security is a concern for a lower price, making it a bargain.
you might choose to look elsewhere.

78

@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Labs Storage

sDSS 2.M

CbIptueocrtrofisomsraueminsrdaiMnonncaPeeg4baa0nyrdgi0talsinfleatuscpakanlunssitzrees, CrTveahorteritnhisggiagianihrroseuMpsmePpear6dtic0cshea0endPdbreyonadnuerqanuacelly KAathnivandetgprssyeutrccofaconperasmbsafleunlaclylel-braolaunncdeesrcSoSsDt

SCORE SCORE SCORE
PRICE 2TB, £201 (£241 inc VAT) PRICE 2TB, £343 (£412 inc VAT) PRICE 1TB, £95 (£114 inc VAT)
from pcpro.link/324mp4 from pcpro.link/324mp6 from pcpro.link/324kc2

READSPEED 2,875MB/SEC READSPEED 4,869MB/SEC READSPEED 2,665MB/SEC
2,788WRITE SPEED 5,418WRITE SPEED 2,246WRITE SPEED
MB/SEC MB/SEC MB/SEC
f you’re looking for a huge M.2 drive, orsair’s MP600 Pro is a high-end ingston’s KC2500 is one of this
the MP400 has you covered: as well as NVMe SSD, with PCI Express Gen4 month’s most affordable SSDs. It’s

I1TB and 2TB models, it’s offered in Csupport promising the highest Knot as cheap as the £80 WD Blue
supersized 4TB and 8TB capacities. The 8TB possible speeds. Unusually, it comes with SN550, but the £34 difference translates to
version will set you back a chunky £1,250, a heatsink as standard to help it maintain a performance boost – we found the
but pricing is more reasonable elsewhere: those speeds even under heavy load, KC2500’s sequential read speeds around
the 1TB model costs £108, equivalent to 11p without the need for thermal throttling. 20% faster than the WD Blue’s, while write
per gigabyte, and the 2TB and 4TB models Our test results confirm that this is a speeds were up by nearly 30%.
work out to 13p/GB. fast drive, and more than a match for any Multithreaded performance is lifted by a
Corsair keeps the price down by using Gen3 model. Yet by Gen4 standards its raw similar margin, which means the KC2500
QLC technology, storing four bits of data in performance isn’t spectacular: in the AS should comfortably cope with any sort of
each memory cell rather than the three SSD sequential read benchmark it was workload. The PCMark 10 benchmark suite
used by most other SSDs. This has an effect easily bested by competing drives from gave it a system disk score of 2,473 and a
on performance: while headline read and Samsung and Western Digital. data disk score of 3,260 – indicating that it’s
write speeds are on par with other PCI It did better in the sequential write test, not only a stronger all-rounder than the
Express Gen3 drives, the drive struggles achieving this month’s fastest sustained WD Blue, it’s also a much better system
with sustained throughput. The PCMark transfer rate. Even so, the overall balance drive than the Corsair MP400, which
benchmark clearly exposed the effect of holds this drive back from greatness. The scored 1,030 in the same test.
this, awarding the MP400 a low system disk PCMark 10 benchmark gave it a system disk The KC2500 comes in a good spread of
score of 1,030 – around what you would score of 2,485 and a data disk score of 4,500 sizes, from 250GB to 2TB, and all of them
expect from a SATA drive. – far behind the 3,502 and 5,984 achieved support full-disk encryption. As a nice
More concerningly, the use of QLC also by the WD Black SN850. bonus, if you cut open the cardboard
shortens the expected lifespan of the That might not be an issue if this were packaging with care, you will find a licence
MP400. Although the 2TB model we tested a mid-price drive, but it’s one of the most key for Acronis True Image HD hidden
comes with a five-year warranty, it’s rated expensive SSDs here. The 1TB option is away inside. This isn’t a full edition of the
for a low 400TBW. The 1TB drive promises £170 – equivalent to 18p per gigabyte – software – it’s an OEM, Windows-only
just 200TBW, a mere third of what you will while the 2TB model we tested works out to build that won’t back up individual files
get from most rival drives. 22p/GB. No doubt the heatsink adds to the and folders. Even so, it’s still a great help
The Corsair MP400 would make a fine manufacturing cost, but that’s academic if for upgraders.
data disk. In that role, high capacities it doesn’t visibly benefit performance. Clearly there are faster SSDs on the
would be a boon, while write endurance The MP600 Pro scores points for offering market, and cheaper ones too. However,
and throughput would be less of an issue: full-disk encryption, and it should last it’s questionable whether any other drive
indeed, the drive scored a very satisfactory longer than most rivals, as the 1TB model is finds such an appealing balance between
4,005 in the PCMark data disk benchmark. rated for an unusually generous 700TBW. If performance and price. If you’re the sort of
However, most people shopping for an you’re more concerned with performance, canny consumer who likes to go for the
NVMe SSD surely want to run Windows on however, the WD Black SN850 is a faster second or third bottle on the wine list, the
it, and this isn’t the right drive for that job. drive for the same money. Kingston KC2500 might suit you perfectly.

79

sDSS 2.M

RECOMMENDED

SiAsntahramuawrgsdgidu-leewnsrgetaa9onr7sgint0eagoEnSfdvSsooiDzuPettshlu,abstuctoimt es ShsSiatalavnmegdrgsyemuerxneintdgrgaa9lpsl8iesm0rtfaPokrremothaniscaewanodrthy SItcthaesetaecwgnhoadtruhtleredaeFonyincrefee,ibrCaeunutdditwada5or2ers0ann’ttyset

SCORE SCORE SCORE
PRICE 500GB, £61 (£73 inc VAT) PRICE 1TB, £154 (£185 inc VAT) PRICE 500GB, £66 (£79 inc VAT)
from pcpro.link/324sam1 from pcpro.link/324sam2 from pcpro.link/324fire

READSPEED 2,604MB/SEC READSPEED 5,468MB/SEC READSPEED 3,574MB/SEC
2,318WRITE SPEED 3,944WRITE SPEED 1,722WRITE SPEED
MB/SEC MB/SEC MB/SEC
amsung’s 970 Evo Plus comes in a amsung’s 980 Pro is a premium he FireCuda 520 is marketed as a
broad range of sizes, from 250GB up NVMe SSD with support for PCI gaming drive, but in this case that

Sto 2TB. Whichever you choose, the SExpress Gen4. In theory, that should Tdoesn’t mean pretty lights. Rather,
price works out to about 15p/GB – not awful allow it to run twice as fast as its mid-range Seagate has focused on reliability: the
value, as long as the performance is there. counterpart (see left) – and to our delight 500GB model we tested is rated for a
In our tests, however, the 970 Evo Plus and amazement it actually does, achieving whopping 850TBW, with the 1TB variant
struggled to distinguish itself. With its PCI a 110% speed boost over the 970 Evo Plus in more than doubling that to 1,800TBW.
Express Gen3 connection, it was never our sequential read speed test. Write speeds Even better, if the drive fails before its
going to compete with the latest top-speed aren’t quite as spectacular, but they’re still time, the five-year warranty includes three
contenders, but we were disappointed to 70% faster than you’ll get from the cheaper years of protection from Seagate’s data-
see sequential read and write speeds merely drive, thanks partly to an onboard 1GB recovery labs. Success isn’t guaranteed, but
on par with the 1TB Kingston KC2500 – a SDRAM cache. they will try to get your data back from a
drive that’s considerably cheaper on a These raw speeds translate to first-class dead drive.
per-gigabyte basis. real-world performance. The PCMark 10 Although the FireCuda is compatible
Indeed, when we fired up the PCMark 10 benchmark gave the 980 Pro an excellent with PCI Express Gen4, we found its
benchmark suite, the 970 Evo Plus fell system disk score of 2,977 – a silver-medal performance a little lacklustre. Sequential
behind the Kingston, with a system disk showing, beaten only by WD’s Black SN850 read speeds fell short of what we’ve seen
score of just 1,693 and a data drive score SSD. It works brilliantly as a data drive too, from other Gen4 SSDs, and write speeds
of 1,935. To be fair, we’re comparing drives though we’re sure no one’s buying the 980 were below even most Gen3 models. This
of different sizes here, but Samsung’s Pro for everyday file storage. led to a mediocre score of 2,102 in the
figures indicate that all capacities of the While the 980 Pro is far faster than the PCMark 10 system drive test.
970 Evo Plus should perform almost 970 Evo Plus, it comes with the same Thankfully, those figures only apply to
identically (see pcpro.link/324sam7). accoutrements. That means standards- the 500GB model. Seagate claims that
On the plus side, write endurance is as compliant full-disk encryption, and the sequential writes are around 75% faster on
good as you would want it to be, with the Samsung Magician app for managing and the 1TB version, with random-access reads
1TB model certified for 600TBW. There’s benchmarking your disk. It would have accelerating by a similar proportion (see
also built-in 256-bit AES encryption, and been nice to have some cloning software pcpro.link/324fire2). That brings it much
support for the Opal and IEEE-1667 thrown in, but you can get that for free – closer to the sort of performance we would
standards – reassuring for IT managers and see our feature on p38. hope to see from a drive in this category.
techies. The latter will also appreciate In fact, the only thing standing between Even so, the price is discouraging. This
the Samsung Magician software, which lets the Samsung 980 Pro and our Labs Winner half-terabyte model comes in at 17p per
you configure drive encryption, inspect award is that pesky WD Black SN850, gigabyte, while the faster 1TB drive will set
technical data and run benchmarks. which somehow delivers even better you back £187, equivalent to 20p/GB. We
For us, though, that’s not enough to save performance for £17 less. But if that doesn’t see the appeal of the huge write endurance,
the day. There’s nothing wrong with the suit your needs – for example, if you need a and the data-recovery promise, but
Samsung 970 Evo Plus, but most of what’s drive with encryption – this SSD makes a hopefully you’re already keeping regular
right with it is matched by the Kingston superb top-shelf choice for any computer backups, in which case the Samsung 980
KC2500 at a lower price. with a compatible slot. Pro or WD Black SN850 are smarter buys.

80

@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Labs Storage

dThrievUeSalBtefrlansahtive sDSS 2.M

bThuetrsepeaerdecgeorotdarinelaysisonn’stfoonrecohfotohseimngaUSBflashdrive,

WoDdfeefcsDwepBniittthleasatpchyekeoeaSudpnNspg,7yee5oaru0ldi’ndrgibvpeerbiceettaenrd If you can expand your storage by attaching but overall performance is nowhere near SSD
an SSD to your USB port, why not use a levels – especially for writing. On a per-
SCORE pocket-sized flash drive instead? After all, gigabyte basis, they’re much worse value too.
PRICE 2TB, £232 (£278 inc VAT) they use the same connection – indeed, some
from pcpro.link/324sn7 drives have convenient double-ended designs So are we saying that you should never buy
that fit both USB-A and USB-C sockets, or a a USB flash drive? No, not at all. If you need to
READSPEED 3,016MB/SEC Lightning connection for iPhones and iPads. store or share a modest amount of data, a
2,446WRITE SPEED They’re also smaller and more self-contained flash drive is a beautifully simple solution with
MB/SEC than most external SSDs, and the prices are a low cost of entry. For ongoing storage, on
he WD Black SN750 is a pensioner by competitive too. the other hand, an external SSD wins out on
SSD standards: it was launched back every metric.
Invariably, though, flash drives are
Tin 2019, as the firm’s flagship drive. comparatively slow. SSDs use faster memory ABOVE USBflashdrivesstillhave
That title has since been taken by the chips and more powerful controllers, capable their place for convenience, but don’t
of handling massively parallel I/O. If you tried expect speeds to match fast external drives
to build a flash drive like that it would be bulky,
SN850, but the SN750 remains available. hot and expensive.

So what can you expect from a flash drive?
We used the AS SSD benchmark to test two of
the latest models from SanDisk, along with the
Kioxia TransMemory U301 thumb drive. The
results are below, along with scores from two
of our favourite external drives found in this
group test for comparison.

The figures speak for themselves. Flash
drives might cope better than mechanical
media with some random-access operations,

It’s certainly a cheaper option. The 2TB Sequential performance Macucletsitshpreerafdoerdmraanncdeom-
model we tested works out at a very fair 15p (MB/sec) (MB/sec)
per gigabyte, while the 1TB model can be
had online for just £100 inc VAT, equivalent SanDisk SExStDr,e1mTBe 957 SanDisk SExStDr,e1mTBe 294
to 11p/GB. 957 310
While the Black SN750 is – like all SSDs 111 6.2
of this vintage – limited to PCI Express WD MyHPDasDs,p4oTrBt 105 750 1,000 SanDisk iXp3a2nGdB, 1.6 225 300

Gen3 connections, it delivers strong SanLDuisxke,iX12p8aGnBd 87 SanLDuisxke,iX12p8aGnBd 5.1
sequential speeds. Its read performance is 33 1.7
the fastest we’ve seen from any Gen3 drive,
while its write speeds are bested only by Kioxia1U2830G1B, 22 210 Kioxia1U2830G1B, 17
0.1
the Corsair MP400.
Sadly, when it comes to random-access SanDisk iXp3a2nGdB, 87 WD MyHPDasDs,p4oTrBt 0.5
operations, things collapse. Multithreaded 19 0.1

performance is decidedly on the slow side, 0 250 500 0 75 150
Read Write
and for single-threaded operations AS SSD Read Write

measured a glacial read rate of 24MB/sec,
which is slower than any SATA model and PCMark 10 data disk score Pricepergigabyte
behind even many USB drives. (pence)
That makes the SN750 a poor candidate
for everyday use. The PCMark 10 SanDisk SExStDr,e1mTBe 1,544 WD MyHPDasDs,p4oTrBt 2.2
benchmark suite gave it a score of just 1,266
in the system disk test, rising to a not much WD MyHPDasDs,p4oTrBt 359 SanDiskSExStDr,e1mTBe 13
better 1,433 in the data drive test.
Like its stablemates, the WD Black
SN750 comes with the WD-branded edition SanLDuisxke,iX12p8aGnBd 143 Kioxia1U283G01B, 24

of Acronis True Image, and there’s a SanDisk iXp3a2nGdB, 134 SanLDuisxke,iX12p8aGnBd 48
heatsink option for those who want to
minimise thermal throttling. Whatever you
do, though, you won’t be able to turn this Kioxia1U2830G1B, 79 SanDisk iXp3a2nGdB, 77
drive into a contender: the price is alluring,
but you’re better off paying a little extra for 0 400 800 1,200 1,600 0 25 50 75 100

a more modern SSD.

81

sDSS ATAS ASdtIfheUdyam8oat0uatc’a0nardneiUsicanlhtofgetipmewrereoawatrtoi2keth.lh5oSeaiUlnpd8Ss,S0tD0he reasonable price to pay for this drive,
working out to 12p per gigabyte.
There’s no premium for the larger 2TB
option, either – it’s almost precisely
double the price, at £222.
Adata also makes a strong case for
reliability. The SU800’s advertised
write endurance is 33% higher than
most competing drives at 800TBW for
the 1TB model. What’s more, as of July
2020, the warranty on this drive has
SCORE been upped from three years to five –
PRICE 1TB, £93 (£112 inc VAT) a reassuring expression of confidence
from pcpro.link/324su8 in the hardware.
There’s no specific software
bundle for the Ultimate SU800 drive;
READSPEED 529MB/SEC threaded random-access test, the ABOVE Adatahas Adata’s SSD Toolbox lets you monitor
485WRITESPEED MB/SEC SU800 recorded read and write confidentlyextended the health of your drive and securely
speeds of 31MB/sec and 103MB/sec theSU800’swarranty clean it if needed, although hardware
data’s Ultimate SU800 is respectively, while the Samsung to five years encryption isn’t supported.
officially a TLC SSD, but it managed 44MB/sec and 107MB/sec. Registering your drive also gets you a
licence key for Acronis True Image
Afeatures a fast SDRAM buffer Probably for that reason, the HD. This basic edition doesn’t support
SU800 didn’t quite match up in the file and folder backups, but if you
PCMark 10 storage benchmarks, with
and a limited amount of SLC cache to a system drive score of 1,014 versus need to clone an old Windows system
help boost performance. Don’t get too the Samsung’s 1,178. Will you notice onto your new SSD, it will do the job.
excited, though: the 6Gbits/sec SATA the difference? Probably not, but if The Adata Ultimate SU800 isn’t
interface ensures that this drive won’t you’re stuck on a SATA connection the fastest SATA SSD you can buy,
be challenging faster USB or M.2 there’s an argument for choosing a nor the cheapest. It’s not far off on
models in the speed stakes. drive that makes the most of it. either count, though, and its
The SU800 mostly just keeps pace What, then, makes the SU800 warranty and endurance ratings are
with the more basic Kingston KC600, worth considering? First the price: if outstanding: if you’re looking for a
and lags slightly behind Samsung’s you’re looking for a 1TB SATA SSD, SATA drive that will stand up to
870 Evo – another TLC drive with an Samsung’s offerings are the cheapest heavier than usual workloads, this
SDRAM cache. In the AS SSD single- right now, but £112 is still a very one’s the natural choice.

SaslTaihajgpaemntwoQifsp-VicduoOarnrnocglptaigsp8nhpi7gntew0igevepdeQirabgViocyhOeootsuPtrCfoar The QVO might sound like a win-
win, but there’s a compromise. The
SCORE cells in a QLC SSD have to work
PRICE 2TB, £129 (£154 inc VAT) harder than the ones in TLC drives,
from pcpro.link/324sam4 reducing their lifespan. While the 870
Evo is rated for 600TBW, the QVO
READSPEED 529MB/SEC benchmarks clearly illustrate the ABOVE QLCchips promises a lesser 360TBW – and the
494WRITESPEED MB/SEC point, reporting precisely the same aside, the QVO is the warranty is shorter too at three years
speeds from the 870 QVO and its TLC spitting image of its versus five.
ll SATA disks look somewhat counterpart. The QVO even managed Evo sibling
alike, but the Samsung 870 to pull ahead in the PCMark 10 storage This doesn’t have to be a deal-
tests – the 2TB model racked up a breaker. While 360TBW would be
AQVO is almost a carbon copy system disk score of 1,240 and a data unacceptable for a database server,
disk score of 1,604, making it this it’s fine for an everyday desktop or
of the 870 Evo. That’s because it’s month’s speediest SATA drive. data drive. Endurance scales with
effectively the same drive, with one Meanwhile, QLC is cheaper than capacity too, so the 2TB model is good
important difference – it uses four- TLC, as it requires fewer physical for 720TBW, which we doubt a
bit QLC chips, in place of the more chips to store a given amount of data. RECOMMENDED regular desktop user will ever hit.

mainstream TLC tech. The 1TB model costs £85, so just 9p If you’re worried, you can use the
It’s a smart option to offer. Packing per gigabyte, while the 2TB version Samsung Magician tool for Windows
additional bits into a memory cell we tested drops that further to 8p. The to keep track of the health of your
normally slows down performance, economics of QLC allow Samsung to drive. As well as providing technical
but that’s moot with SATA drives as produce reasonably affordable 4TB diagnostics, this also lets you securely
the interface bottlenecks the available and 8TB models too, available online erase the disk or activate hardware
bandwidth anyway. The AS SSD for £302 and £626 respectively. encryption. It’s partnered with the
Samsung Data Migration utility,
which simplifies the task of cloning a
working system onto a new disk.

The limited write endurance of the
870 QVO means we can’t recommend
it for intensive, mission-critical roles.
But if you want to give a new lease of
life to a laptop or lightweight PC, it
can provide the space you need, along
with first-rate SATA performance, at
an unbeatable price.

82

@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Labs Storage

Howwetest sDSS ATAS

KiMcfiinyanockguhes’,sratetolhtanhefotuKeuprCggrh6raa0lowd0oeskppeerlsoeecdweshseare SIltethaawems8oe7sno0u’ftnElsivfegeot8wpg7iuivt0lehsseEnsavonrogaorcludinmPgbC,lbianungtew ootWhufertroopwuuuggitnhhenatteehcrsehstsosaftmtohdeeesdteerlirevmcetsiinoen

SCORE SCORE We use two tools to thoroughly test the
PRICE 1TB, £94 (£113 inc VAT) PRICE 500GB, £48 (£58 inc VAT) performance of each drive in this month’s
from pcpro.link/324kc6 from pcpro.link/324sam3 Labs. The first is the synthetic AS SSD
benchmark, which measures raw
READSPEED 530MB/SEC READSPEED 528MB/SEC sequential read and write speeds for each
484WRITE SPEED 499WRITE SPEED drive – giving an indication of how quickly
MB/SEC MB/SEC it can load and save large files – as well as
ingston’s KC600 is a standard 2.5in t’s difficult for a SATA drive to set random-access 4K operations across 64
SATA drive, and that immediately itself apart from the crowd because simultaneous threads, showing how it
copes with heavy demand. You’ll find the
Ktells us it’s not going to break any Iboth performance and physical design results for each drive in our graphs on
performance records, owing to the are constrained by the SATA standard. p92. All drives are formatted with NTFS,
limitations of the SATA interface. Indeed, Frankly, the Samsung 870 Evo doesn’t although if you want an external drive to
the KC600’s sequential read speed of really manage to express a character of be fully usable in both Windows and
530MB/sec proved effectively identical to its own – but equally, it doesn’t get macOS you should choose the ExFAT file
the three other SATA drives on test in this anything wrong. system – performance won’t be
month’s Labs. Let’s start with performance: the 870 significantly different.
Not all SSDs are created equal, however. Evo’s SDRAM cache ensured that it didn’t
The KC600 lagged slightly in AS SSD’s falter in any of AS SSD’s sequential and We also use the PCMark 10 storage
sequential write and multithreaded random-access tests, consistently benchmark suite to assess real-world
random-access tests, and ended up with matching up to the best of its rivals. And in performance. These tests use “traces” –
worst-in-class scores in the PCMark 10 the PCMark 10 storage benchmarks it captured sequences of read and write
storage benchmarks. That’s not very placed ahead of both Adata and Kingston’s operations generated by real desktop
encouraging if you’re looking for an SSD SATA offerings, if a little behind its QVO activities – to put every drive through a
to serve as a system drive. stablemate (see opposite). standardised workload. The system drive
The KC600 does have its plus points, The 870 Evo is good value too. The test includes booting Windows, launching
though. There’s hardware encryption, 500GB model we tested works out to 12p and using applications such as Adobe
which the Adata lacks, and a solid write per gigabyte, while the 1TB model can be
endurance of 600TBW – much better than had for just £97, which is equivalent to ABOVE Wechallengedeachdrivetoatrialby
the 360TBW offered by the 1TB Samsung 10p/GB. Samsung also offers it in 2TB and combat by launching games such as Battlefield V
870 QVO. 4TB capacities, although these are niche
And while the price above is for the bare options and are priced to match at £239 Photoshop and Microsoft Excel, launching
drive, Kingston also offers a convenient and £384 respectively. Battlefield V, Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4 and
upgrade bundle for an extra £16. This While there’s not much in the way of Overwatch and copying data files both to
includes a bracket for mounting the drive bells and whistles, the 870 Evo does and from the target disk. We also perform
in a 3.5in desktop bay, plus all of the support 256-bit AES hardware encryption. the data drive test, which focuses on
required cables and connectors. You even It can be managed through the shiny file-copy performance. Both benchmarks
get a copy of the Acronis True Image HD Samsung Magician toolkit, and you can produce absolute performance scores,
cloning software thrown in, and a 2.5in also download the free Data Migration which again you’ll find on p92.
USB enclosure. This makes it a breeze to software to clone the contents of your old
migrate your system across to the new drive onto your new one – although you Of course, performance isn’t the only
drive and gives you the option of then will need to find a way to get both disks consideration: value for money is of the
repurposing your old drive as extra connected at once. greatest importance, and you’ll find a
external storage. With a five-year warranty and a price-per-gigabyte calculation among our
If you’re seeking an easy SATA upgrade, promised write endurance of 600TBW, the graphs on p93. We also look at any extra
the Kingston KC600 is a fine choice. If Samsung 870 Evo ticks all of the important features such as hardware encryption or
you’re happy with a bare drive, however, boxes. If you’re upgrading an old PC or bundled software, and for external drives
the Adata is a little snappier while the laptop then it will do the job with no ifs we factor in style and practicality. Based
Samsung 870 QVO is a lot cheaper. or buts. on all of these considerations, we award
each product a star rating out of five.

83

SEVIRD BSU LANRETXE SaTlmifnhaeademkodbensiimtotuhhmnieneegTurtZtoTriTiav7codeTsudcociamuhnciendhneesrailofnosr supplied software you can lock the 1,000MB/sec. We measured a read
entire drive using hardware-based rate of 912MB/sec – a little short of the
SCORE 256-bit AES encryption, so it will ABOVE Youcankeep promised performance, but not bad
PRICE 500GB, £53 (£64 inc VAT) reveal its contents only once you’ve your key files away for this type of drive. Write speeds
from pcpro.link/324sam6 authenticated with a fingerprint. If from prying eyes with were rather lower, but well beyond
you want to share the drive with AES encryption the capabilities of a 5Gbits/sec Gen1
READSPEED 912MB/SEC others, you can register up to four connection, and indeed faster than
756WRITESPEED MB/SEC prints or set a password instead. RECOMMENDED any SATA drive.

ith its smart metallic finish The only other external feature is a Notably, Samsung doesn’t shout
and rounded edges, the USB-C connector at one end. This is of about random-access performance,
the Gen2 variant, supporting 10Gbits/ and there’s probably a reason for that.
WSamsungT7 Touchlooks sec connections; thoughtfully, the In AS SSD’s multithreaded read and
manufacturer includes two cables in write tests, the T7 Touch (along with
rather like a business-card holder. In the box, so you can plug the drive its non-Touch sibling on p89) lagged
fact, it’s roughly the same size, with a directly into a corresponding Type-C substantially behind rival SSDs.
footprint of 57 x 85mm, and it weighs socket or a full-sized USB-A port. Consequently, it achieved one of this
a mere 58g without the cable. That month’s lowest ratings in the PCMark
makes it one of the most deliciously Samsung claims that a USB 3 Gen2 data drive test, scoring just 856.
portable drives this month – only the connection allows the T7 Touch to
Seagate One Touch is more compact. achieve sequential read speeds of up While that’s a disappointment, it
to 1,050MB/sec and write speeds of shouldn’t rule the T7 Touch out of
It has a neat party trick, too. The contention. It’s absolutely fine for
little square on the front isn’t just personal use and the price isn’t bad,
ornamentation – as the name hints, either – the 500GB model we tested
it’s a biometric scanner. With the works out to 14p/GB, albeit the 1TB
model is a little pricier at £160,
equivalent to 17p/GB.

Factor in the beautifully dinky
design and the fingerprint reader
and it’s a tempting choice for anyone
who is seeking a secure travelling
companion, or an upgrade for your
home office that won’t eat up
precious desk space. It’s not the
fastest external drive around, but
it’s one of the most likeable.

SanDisk Extreme Pro Alternatively,foradesktop All of this makes the Extreme
system you can buy a PCI Pro a great choice if you’re
Express card that adds the looking for a drive you can
just chuck into a bag and go.
Thebolddesigncertainly requisiteUSBconnectorfor The only thing we’re
around £30. ambivalent about is the
showy orange trim – and
won’tbetoeveryone’staste, That’swhatwedid we’re doubtful that even the
butwhocareswhenthe andwedon’tbegrudgethe most outdoorsy types will
make use of the carabiner
investment at all. With loop in the top corner.

performanceisthisgood? sequentialreadandwrite It’s also slightly
rates of over 1,800MB/sec, disappointing to note that
the Extreme Pro’s hardware encryption isn’t
SCORE performance over a Gen 2x2 supported. SanDisk offers
PRICE 1TB, £150 (£180 inc VAT) connection vies with its own SecureAccess tool
from pcpro.link/324san2 low-end NVMe drives. for Windows and macOS,
Multithreaded performance which you can use to create
isn’t quite so stellar, but this password-protected
SSD was still around twice as “vaults”, but you can do the
same thing with free tools
READ SPEED 1,861MB/SEC fastasdrivesusingtheolder such as VeraCrypt
10Gbits/sec connection. That (veracrypt.fr).

WRITE SPEED 1,842MB/SEC makesitasuperchoicefor Finally, there’s no getting
any outboard storage role: around the fact that the
he SanDisk Extreme Pro is one the PCMark benchmark suite nDisk Extreme Pro is this
of the first external drives we’ve gave it a data disk score of month’s most expensive external
drive by far, working out to 19p per
Tseen that uses the USB 3.2 Gen 1,788, second only to the gigabyte. But for the money you get
2x2 standard. When it’s connected to Adata SE900G. an unusually sturdy and compact SSD
a compatible socket, it can sustain The Extreme Pro fares well that delivers true next-generation
speeds of up to 20Gbits/sec. the portability stakes too. It’s smaller ABOVE Thecarabiner performance. The design might be a
The catch might be the than the Adata drive, weighs just 85g loop means you can little ostentatious, but for an
“compatible socket” part – even on and even has some ruggedisation, take your SSD to the exceptional drive like this, perhaps
the newest laptops and desktops, 2x2 thanks to a tough plastic and rubber summit of Everest… that’s justified.
ports are still rare. If you don’t have outer. An IP55 rating promises
one, you can plug this drive into a protection against dust and splashes,
regular USB socket for now, and look and it’s backed up with a five-year
forward to a big speed boost when warranty, which is unusually long
you next upgrade your computer. for an external drive.

84

@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Labs Storage

SfvpAoeretrroians–pgiyeiofaSrnytSpo–eDeuaOrtomfhnpoaotertdmfTopearoasncutthckoceesuhp1talSTuaBSnycDh way of heat dissipation during SEVIRD BSU LANRETXE
intensive operations.
SCORE weight, using a USB 3.2 Gen 2 ABOVE IfPCProgave
PRICE 1TB, £92 (£110 inc VAT) connection to achieve very creditable out a “Best Dressed” The One Touch SSD doesn’t
from pcpro.link/324sea sequential read and write speeds. As award, the One Touch support hardware encryption, but
our graphs on p92 show, it’s not quite SSD would win it Seagate provides its own backup
READSPEED 910MB/SEC the fastest contender on the market, software, along with a free one-year
958WRITESPEED MB/SEC but when it comes to transferring RECOMMENDED subscription to Mylio Create (a service
large files you’ll realistically get the that backs up and organises your
ooks aren’t the most important same experience from this drive as photos) and a four-month trial of the
thing when you’re shopping for from a rival using the same interface. Adobe Creative Cloud Photography
plan. Perhaps more valuable is
Lstorage, but they certainly don’t For random access performance Seagate’s Rescue Data service: if
it’s a slightly different story. While your drive fails within its two-year
hurt. The One Touch SSD is, in our the multithreaded AS SSD tests didn’t warranty period, the company’s
view, this month’s most stylish drive, expose any particular weaknesses, technicians will do their best to
with a smart white trim, slate-grey the One Touch stumbled in the recover your data, something no
finish and fabric side panels that are PCMark 10 storage benchmarks, other manufacturer will attempt.
warm and pleasing to the touch. ending up with a data drive score of
598 – the lowest of any SSD this The price is very fair too: the 1TB
It’s also tiny, measuring just 50 x month. We suspect that’s down to One Touch SSD can be had online for
70mm, and it weighs a mere 74g. You thermal throttling, since the small £110, equivalent to 12p per gigabyte.
could happily carry it around in a size of the drive affords little in the At that price you might wonder about
shirt pocket. moving up to the roomy 2TB model,
but sadly that comes in at a much less
When it comes to performance the attractive £305.
One Touch SSD punches above its
Some will be turned off by the One
Touch SSD’s uneven performance: if
you’re looking for a USB 3.2 Gen 2
drive that can maintain top speeds
when the going gets tough, consider
the SanDisk Extreme (see p89) or
the WD My Passport SSD (see p91). In
our view, though, the One Touch is
just more likeable than either of those
drives, and it also happens to be
terrific value.

TcaTdohropameslawhmecbiewibnafaidcotk-hrCbstiaon,hbngeeugvvCtilitiaotnahngbAevlpierdorevi’csaesnstcilel Needless to say, there are trade- ABOVE 4TBforjust before any data could be read or
offs. The main one is performance. £90 will put a smile on written; for comparison, this month’s
SCORE The speeds above are around a sixth many faces – as will slowest SSD (the Samsung T7 Touch)
PRICE 2TB, £47 (£56 inc VAT) of what we would expect to see from the jaunty colour took just 0.3ms to access the desired
from pcpro.link/324tosh1 a USB-attached SSD; benchmark the memory cell.
Canvio Advance against one of the
READSPEED 143MB/SEC latest PCI Express Gen4 NVMe drives The consequence is distinctly
140WRITESPEED MB/SEC and you’re looking at a 40-fold 20th-century levels of performance.
difference in bandwidth. In the multithreaded random-access
our eyes do not deceive you: benchmark, it achieved an overall
the Canvio Advance offers What’s more, those sequential read rate of roughly 400KB/sec; for
read and write figures represent the comparison, the T7 Touch cruised
Ytwo full terabytes of personal very best performance the Canvio through the same test at 252MB/sec.
Advance has to offer. As with all The PCMark 10 storage benchmark
storage for just £56, equivalent to 3p mechanical drives, it drops off gave the drive dismal ratings, with a
per gigabyte. If that’s somehow not sharply in random-access operations, data disk score of just 326.
enough space, the 4TB model can be as the drive head shuttles back and
yours for £90, or 2p/GB. forth between physical locations on The other downside of mechanical
the disk. AS SSD measured an access disks is their bulk. Although barely
So how have these incredible time of 17ms for the Canvio Advance, bigger than a regular 2.5in SATA
prices been achieved? While most drive, the Canvio Advance still feels
modern external drives are based on chunky compared to diminutive SSD
SSD technology, Toshiba has stuck rivals from the likes of Seagate and
with the traditional spinning disk Toshiba. At 144g, it’s heavier too – but
design, allowing it to offer huge let’s not overstate the issue. It’s still
drives at much lower cost. perfectly small and light enough to fit
happily in your laptop bag.

Clearly, the Canvio Advance isn’t
right for everyone. For live data, an
SSD – any SSD – will give you a vastly
smoother experience. Yet there are
roles where performance is a lower
priority than capacity, such as
overnight backups, or mass retention
of historic archives. The Canvio
Advance is tailor-made for that type
of job and we can’t sniff at that.

85

Labs Storage @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO

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SCORE SCORE SCORE
PRICE 1TB, £102 (£122 inc VAT) PRICE 500GB, £63 (£75 inc VAT) PRICE 1TB, £110 (£132 inc VAT)
from pcpro.link/324se7 from pcpro.link/324se9 from pcpro.link/324lac

READSPEED 980MB/SEC READSPEED 1,869MB/SEC READSPEED 508MB/SEC
787WRITE SPEED 1,756WRITE SPEED 406WRITE SPEED
MB/SEC MB/SEC MB/SEC
rom its size and shape, we strongly f Adata’s SE760 is a little on the plain aCie’s Portable SSD uses the modern
suspect that the Adata SE760 is a side, the SE900G goes to the opposite USB-C connector, but it doesn’t take

Fstandard M.2 SSD wrapped up in a USB Iextreme. Plug it in and the top is Ladvantage of modern USB standards.
enclosure. There’s nothing wrong with that immediately illuminated with a glowing Rather, it’s stuck with what used to be
– using commodity parts evidently helps rainbow mesh pattern. The colours pulse called USB 3.0, and a maximum transfer
keep the price down, as this is one of the continuously while the drive is connected, speed of 5Gbits/sec. As the figures above
most economical SSDs around, working and can’t be customised or disabled – so illustrate, that holds it back when it comes
out to 13p per gigabyte. here’s hoping you like the effect. to sequential read and write rates.
It doesn’t win any points for style, Another thing distinctive about this Yet things aren’t as bad as they may
however. The plain-looking case comes in a drive is its support for USB 3.2 Gen 2x2. seem. The LaCie’s random-access
choice of two drab colours – black and grey Plug it into a compatible PC and you’re performance is surprisingly competitive,
– and its curved design means it wobbles on looking at double the bandwidth of most besting many SSDs with faster interfaces.
your desk as you type. We appreciate the competing drives: we saw fantastic Clever caching even allowed the drive to
inclusion of an activity LED, a convenience sequential read and write speeds rack up an effective write speed of 658MB/
that most manufacturers seem to have approaching 2GB/sec. sec in the AS SSD multithreaded write
abandoned; irritatingly, though, it’s stuck Better yet, the drive manages to test, exceeding the nominal bandwidth of
on the end, next to the USB-C connector, maintain best-in-class speeds under the USB connection. The LaCie aced the
meaning that you can only see it from demanding random-access workloads. PCMark 10 storage tests as well, with a
certain angles. In the multithreaded AS SSD benchmark, data disk score of 1,583 that puts many
In our performance tests the SE760 data flooded out of the SE900G at a very ostensibly faster drives to shame.
delivered strong sequential read speeds, impressive rate of 613MB/sec, while Physically, the drive itself is of a rather
getting close to the limits of its 10Gbits/sec PCMark 10 awarded it a superlative score odd design; its footprint isn’t far off a
USB connection. But write speeds were of 2,017 in the data disk test. square shape, with a slightly extruded
lower and the drive’s results in the PCMark As with the SE760, you get little in the platform on the top that presumably acts as
storage benchmarks were unexpectedly way of trimmings. There’s no encryption a heatsink. Still, it’s small and slim enough
mediocre; we suspect this is down to support and no bundled software – just a to sit unobtrusively on your desk or stow
cooling issues because we noticed that the pair of cables allowing you to connect the away neatly in your laptop bag, and it’s
drive became quite hot during the tests. drive to both new and old-style USB ports. good to see a bright white activity light
Adata helpfully includes two USB cables There’s a price to pay for that cutting- flashing away at the front.
in the box, meaning you can connect the edge interface, too. Whether you go for this Since LaCie is owned by Seagate, the
SE760 to either a USB-A or USB-C socket, 512GB model or the 1TB option, the SE900G drive also benefits from the parent
but there’s nothing in the way of extra works out to a stiff 16p/GB. Still, that’s company’s Rescue Data recovery service,
software, nor any support for hardware comfortably less than the other 20Gbits/sec which will try to get your files back if the
encryption. In all it feels like a rather drive on test this month, the SanDisk drive dies within the three-year warranty
barebones offering: this isn’t a terrible SSD, Extreme Pro, so if you’re looking for an period. The price isn’t stunning, working
but it’s hard to think of a reason why you ultrafast external SSD, the Adata could be out to 14p per gigabyte, but overall the
would choose it over a similarly priced rival the ideal choice – as long as you can live LaCie Portable SSD is a better deal than it
such as the SanDisk Extreme. with the insistently colourful design. might appear from the spec sheet.

86

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SCORE SCORE SCORE
PRICE 500GB, £49 (£59 inc VAT) PRICE 1TB, £98 (£118 inc VAT) PRICE 4TB, £75 (£90 inc VAT)
from pcpro.link/324sam5 from pcpro.link/324san1 from pcpro.link/324tosh1

READSPEED 965MB/SEC READSPEED 957MB/SEC READSPEED 143MB/SEC
773WRITE SPEED 957WRITE SPEED 138WRITE SPEED
MB/SEC MB/SEC MB/SEC
here’s something familiar about he SanDisk Extreme looks a lot oshiba’s Canvio Flex offers a huge
Samsung’s T7 external SSD. The like the Extreme Pro (see p84), but amount of storage for an amazing

Tname echoes that of the T7 Touch Tthe two aren’t identical. This one’s Tprice – but it achieves that by using
(see p84), and design-wise this petite considerably smaller, measuring 50 x slow mechanical disk technology. It’s a
portable is practically its doppelgänger. 96mm, and the orange trim is confined to similar proposition to the Canvio Advance
The difference is that the T7 lacks the the corner, rather than running all the way (see p85), and both drives offer a purported
fingerprint reader. It still supports 256-bit round the outer edge. At 63g, it’s lighter maximum transfer rate of 625MB/sec over a
AES encryption, but you’ll need to unlock too; in all it’s a much more low-key drive. 5Gbits/sec USB connection.
it with a password rather than a prod. Nevertheless, the Extreme matches In practice, we found neither drive was
Other than that, the two designs are the build quality of its bigger brother, capable of attaining a quarter of that speed
distinguished solely by their colouring. with the same tough plastic and rubber – and they struggled with the punishing
While the T7 Touch comes only in sober construction, and again an IP55 rating random-access tests, thrashing and
black and silver varieties, the vanilla T7 promising resistance to dust and splashes. stuttering to the point that some solid-state
offers vibrant blue and red finishes, along On the downside, hardware encryption rivals were a thousand times faster. Clearly
with a business-like grey. remains absent, and the warranty on this these drives are best suited to lightweight
With identical internals and the same model is shorter than the Pro at three or non-performance-critical duties.
USB 3.2 Gen 2 interface, the T7 achieves years instead of five. There are a few differences between the
much the same benchmark scores as the The biggest difference is that, in place Flex and the Advance: the Flex comes with
T7 Touch. That means sequential read of the Extreme Pro’s 20Gbits/sec socket, the exFAT file system, so it will work on
performance is pretty good, while write this non-Pro edition makes do with a Windows, macOS and other platforms out
speeds are a trifle off the pace. Random- regular USB 3.2 Gen 2 connector. SanDisk of the box. That’s not much of a distinction,
access performance is sub-par too, leading weirdly undersells this, advertising read though – if need be, you can reformat the
to a disappointing score of 871 in the speeds of up to 550MB/sec – in fact, as Advance to match in 30 seconds.
PCMark data disk test – well behind the expected, we saw sequential read and write The Flex is also slightly larger and more
1,500-plus ratings achieved by the SanDisk speeds top out at a little under 1GB/sec, boxy. To our eyes it looks cheap, but it does
Extreme and WD My Passport SSD. which isn’t bad at all for outboard storage. benefit from a clear, decent-sized activity
There’s a final variable to consider, and Random-access performance is respectable LED. Software support is meaner: Toshiba’s
that’s price. The 500GB T7 drive is a mere too: the PCMark 10 benchmark gave the backup and password-protection utilities
fiver cheaper than the T7 Touch, which is SanDisk Extreme a data disk score of 1,544, won’t work with unsupported drives, and
hardly worth foregoing the fingerprint which is impressively close to the 1,788 we the Flex doesn’t qualify.
scanner for. If you want a full terabyte of saw from the Extreme Pro. At the time of writing, the 4TB Canvio
storage, however, the T7 is much better Price-wise, both the 1TB and 2TB Flex is slightly cheaper, on a per-gigabyte
value, coming in at £129 – equivalent to 14p models work out to 13p/GB, which is good basis, than the corresponding Advance,
per gigabyte – versus £167 for the Touch. If value for this type of drive. If you like the but that’s reversed for smaller variants,
you can live with mid-range performance idea of a compact and rugged portable with the 2TB Flex costing £9 more than the
and aren’t bothered about biometric SSD, and don’t need next-generation Advance. If a basic mechanical drive suits
security, it’s not a bad price for a pleasingly performance, the SanDisk Extreme is a your needs, the decision might boil down
portable and jauntily coloured SSD. very persuasive proposition. to how much space you need.

89

oNfAsSto:trhaegaepspcliieannccee

NAS appliances offer a handy way to expand your storage across your network,
so are they a better choice than external disks?

Investing in a new hard disk is an ABOVE UnlikeanSSD, The good news, sort of, is that single drives in 8TB, 12TB and even
easy way to expand your storage, aNASapplianceisa the speed limitations of a home NAS 18TB capacities, while desktop SSDs
but it has its limitations. The versatilecomputerin mean you might as well use low-cost rarely go above 2TB.
obvious one is that only one computer its own right mechanical disks, rather than costly
gets the benefit: giving your desktop SSDs. A pair of NAS-certified 4TB So if, for example, you’re a keen
system a handy terabyte of breathing disks can be had for £90 each, so your videographer looking for a huge data
space doesn’t do anything for the overall outlay per gigabyte needn’t be tank to store archives of 4K or 8K
overloaded SSD in your laptop. And wildly different, compared to buying footage, a NAS might be the most
while today’s external drives tend to a single high-speed M.2 drive. practical option – subject to the
be light and compact, they’re still an There are also a few performance limitations. If you buy
extra box to take up desk space or to tj“ibunhTisgeahtgyeNceamAhrlesSecoaacapcphpeoaaprmcnlitiiatechinaaienclnsdem”SiasuSrkcDeshnsu’–sted pre-populated, self- an appliance with more bays than
carry around with you. contained options, such you need, you also have the option of
as WD’s My Cloud Home easily and economically extending
As an alternative, it’s worth Duo (pcpro.link/324my). your storage at a later point by simply
considering a standalone NAS However, while these installing additional disks.
appliance, which connects to your may seem like good
router and can offer both shared and value, they lack the full Reliability
private storage to every device on versatility and expandability of a
your network. NAS systems offer “real” NAS appliance. All NAS appliances offer at least two
several advantages over directly drive bays. If you want, you can
connected drives, but there are also BELOW Remote Capacity install a pair of disks in these and
some caveats to be aware of. access services let combine them into a single large
you retrieve files no The mechanical disks used in a NAS volume. This isn’t recommended,
Speed matter where you are appliance aren’t just cheaper than though: the real point of multiple
SSDs – they also come in much bigger bays is for RAID mirroring or parity-
Since NAS appliances operate over capacities. Right now you can buy based fault tolerance. With this
your home network, performance enabled, if one of your disks breaks
will depend on the connection down, your data can be fully
between your client machine and the recovered from the remaining drives.
router. If you’re loading and saving If you rely on a single SSD for storage,
large files over a legacy Wi-Fi link, one hardware failure means all the
you’ll be lucky to get transfer rates of data on that volume is gone for good.
around 30MB/sec, while a strong
Wi-Fi 6 connection can boost that to It’s important to note, however,
around 60MB/sec. With a wired that redundancy isn’t a replacement
Gigabit Ethernet connection speeds for backup. RAID won’t help you if
might top 100MB/sec. you accidentally overwrite a file, or
if your documents are locked up by
That’s fine for everyday ransomware. NAS folders need
documents and photos, but it’s not backing up just like any other folder.
exactly speedy: some of the SSDs in
this month’s Labs are literally 30 Nor is RAID exclusively a NAS
times faster. If you frequently work feature: you can install multiple
with big files, that performance
differential could have a big impact.
Then again, drive speed is most
important when running Windows
and other software, and you can’t do
that from network storage anyway.

Price

A NAS solution is almost always
more expensive than buying a single
SSD. A basic two-bay home appliance,
such as the TerraMaster F2-210
(pcpro.link/324f2) will cost you
around £150, while a four-bay model
such as the Synology DiskStation
DS420j (pcpro.link/324ds) will set
you back around £270. And these are
unpopulated prices: you’ll need to
factor in the price of the actual disks
on top of that.

90

@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Labs Storage

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to get desktop RAID enclosures that
connect directly to your computer READ SPEED 111MB/SEC READ SPEED 979MB/SEC
via USB or Thunderbolt, combining 105WRITE SPEED 980WRITE SPEED
some of the benefits of NAS with the MB/SEC MB/SEC
performance of a local disk. he My Passport is Western Digital’s hile the mechanical WD My
portable mechanical offering. As usual Passport is best suited to low-speed
Convenience
Twith this type of drive, it’s designed Wapplications (see left), this
The more computers you have in for a bulk storage role, and the company’s flash-based counterpart focuses much more
your household, the more it makes marketing doesn’t make any claims about on performance.
sense to invest in a NAS appliance. performance at all. To that end it supports USB 3.2 Gen 2, and
It’s the perfect way to make your That’s probably wise. For sequential takes full advantage of the bandwidth
files available on any device, without operations the My Passport is this month’s available: in our tests, the My Passport SSD
proliferating duplicate copies that slowest drive, delivering a read rate of just read and wrote big files at around 980MB/sec,
waste space and cause confusion. If 111MB/sec. It evaded last place in the PCMark close to the maximum the connection can
need be, you can use account data disk test, but the margin was tiny: in handle. It proved a strong performer at
management to restrict what certain terms of the overall user experience, this is random-access tasks too, achieving a PCMark
clients or individuals can access. as slow as it gets. data disk score of 1,694 – the best we’ve seen
Still, the My Passport has strengths from any USB SSD, aside from those few using
Many NAS systems support remote elsewhere. Unlike Toshiba’s Canvio drives it the newest Gen 2x2 technology.
access, so when you’re travelling you supports 256-bit hardware encryption, and Hardware-based encryption is another
can get at your files over the internet. its footprint is a tad smaller. The 19mm plus, and the WD Discovery software that
And sync services allow you to depth is on the chunky side, but in our manages it can also take care of basic backup
configure Dropbox-style local folders opinion it’s a more attractive drive overall. duties. A USB-A-to-USB-C adapter in the
and synchronise them across all Alongside the standard black design, WD box ensures that, however your computer is
enrolled computers. offers models with sky blue and bright red equipped for ports, you can connect the drive
front panels: the former looks rather chic, using the bundled USB-C cable.
Features while the latter looks like it fell out of the It must be said, the drive isn’t much to
1980s – take your pick. look at. A few ridges add some visual interest
Fundamentally, the difference The My Passport undercuts Toshiba on to the case, but at the end of the day it’s a
between a bare SSD and a NAS price too. The 4TB drive we tested costs just small plastic box in your choice of black, grey,
appliance is that the former is a £82, which is equivalent to 2.2p per gigabyte, gold or maroon.
resource for your computer, whereas while the gigantic 5TB model can be picked And while it’s rated to survive drops of up
the latter is a computer in its own up for £98, squeezing the price down to to 2m, the construction feels cheap, caving
right. In addition to looking after your 2.1p/GB. inwards easily when you squeeze it. That’s
files, a NAS can serve as a streaming It bears repeating that you shouldn’t be disappointing considering this is one of the
hub for your music, photos and considering a mechanical drive for any role priciest USB SSDs we’ve tested: the 1TB and
videos, a central virus-scanning where performance is remotely important. 2TB models both work out to 15p/GB, while
portal, a host for your websites and But if you don’t need the performance and the top-tier 4TB model comes to 17p/GB.
databases and more. Many models expense of an SSD then the WD My Passport’s Still, the My Passport SSD remains a
even support virtualisation and eye-catching design, decent feature set and compact, versatile and above all speedy little
containers, allowing you to turn your unbeatable price make it our pick of the drive. If your budget will stretch, you won’t
NAS into a complete, always-on mechanical portables. be disappointed with its performance.
application server.

If you want to take that route,
though, look closely at the hardware
specifications when choosing a NAS.
Low-cost home appliances often use
lightweight ARM processors and may
ship with only 1GB of RAM, which is a
recipe for sluggish performance.

91

Testresults (AS SSD, MB/sec) Random-access performance Read Write
(AS SSD, 64 threads, MB/sec)
Sequential performance

WD Black SN850 LabsWinner 5,746 Corsair MP600 Pro 2,963
5,085
3,586
Samsung 980 Pro 5,468 WD Black SN850 LabsWinner 2,906 3,687
3,944 Samsung 980 Pro Recommended 2,805

Corsair MP600 Pro 4,869 2,880
5,418

Seagate FireCuda 520 1,722 3,574 Seagate FireCuda 520 1,978
Corsair MP400 2,387
WD Black SN750 3,016
2,446 Kingston KC2500 1,746
WD Black SN750 2,830
Corsair MP400 2,875 Samsung 970 Evo Plus
2,788 WD Blue SN550 1,361
1,336
Kingston KC2500 2,665 Adata SE900G
2,426 SanDisk Extreme Pro 1,252
2,198
Samsung 970 Evo Plus 2,604
2,318 1,177
2,240
WD Blue SN550 2,221
1,905 1,043 Recommended
1,531
Adata SE900G 1,869
1,756 613
534
SanDisk Extreme Pro 1,861
1,842 547
494

Adata SE760 980 WD My Passport SSD 387
787 402

WD My Passport SSD 979 Samsung 870 QVO 379 Recommended
980 340

Samsung T7 965 Samsung 870 Evo 378
773 339

SanDisk Extreme 957 Recommended Adata Ultimate SU800 376
957 342

Samsung T7 Touch 912 Recommended Kingston KC600 358
756 341

Seagate One Touch SSD 910 Recommended LaCie Portable SSD 347
958 658

Kingston KC600 530 SanDisk Extreme 294 Recommended
484 310

Adata Ultimate SU800 529 Seagate One Touch SSD 252 Recommended
485 320

Samsung 870 QVO 529 Recommended Adata SE760 243
494 415

Samsung 870 Evo 528 Samsung T7 241
499 216

LaCie Portable SSD 508 Samsung T7 Touch 227 Recommended
406 218

Toshiba Canvio Flex 143 WD My Passport 0.45 Recommended
138 0.14

Toshiba Canvio Advance 143 Toshiba Canvio Flex 0.38
140 0.45

WD My Passport 111 Recommended Toshiba Canvio Advance 0.38
105 0.42

0 1,500 3,000 4,500 6,000 0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000

92

ViewfromtheLabs
Is your PC or laptop bursting at the seams? Don’t beat yourself up – it’s never been easier
to upgrade, whether that’s via a class-leading NVMe drive or an external USB option

Buyingextra storagecan feel capacities we feel entitled to – but in Happily, expanding your storage
like an admission of failure. about 2009 the industry took a sharp isn’t the compromise it used to be –
You have let your files grow out left turn and we all started switching especially not outboard storage.
of control until your hard disk can’t to faster, smoother SSDs. Back in the pre-SSD days, external
take any more, and now, rather than I can’t say that was the wrong drives were an option of last resort,
pruning them back, you’re simply move. On the rare occasions in recent combining the tortuous seek times of
buying your way out of the problem. years that I’ve come across a computer a mechanical disk with a top speed
Or, perhaps the issue isn’t your still running off an old spinning hard of around 40MB/sec, courtesy of the
file management. Perhaps the real DarienGraham-Smith disk, I’ve been left incredulous. How USB 2 interface. If you had to rely on
culprit is your past self, who bought a isassociateeditorof did we ever persuade ourselves that one of those for your day-to-day
computer that genuinely didn’t have PCProandaveteran this sort of stuttering, grinding, storage needs, you might be
enough storage for your needs. They storageaficionado achingly slow performance was understandably frustrated.
cheaped out and now you’re having acceptable? It’s mad to me that when I This month, though, we’ve seen
to pick up their slack. Either way, it’s first joined the PC Pro team, this was external SSDs blasting out data at 20
not a great feeling. the state of the art. I’m amazed I didn’t times that speed over the latest USB 3
Don’t blame yourself. If hard disks chuck my work computer in the bin connections. The drives are much
had kept pace with other PC and write out my reviews longhand. smaller and lighter too, and while they
components then by now a new laptop But SSD technology might not be as fast as a high-end
ought to come with about 4TB of woa“stHcuauhrostsiwtnaeegcldrvlcyiiednesspgwltto,hagewabretlipventee?dhrr”iifnspogser,ormrstuaonafdcee brings its own problems. NVMe drive, they’re price-
storage. Instead, many of us are still Comparatively high competitive – and significantly
bumbling along with 256GB, and prices mean there’s every cheaper than the chips soldered into
having to deal with the housekeeping incentive to try to make your laptop.
and guilt that entails. It’s not fair, do with the smallest drive
especially when every other part of you can, and laptop For all of these reasons, it can
actually be the smart move to start
the PC seems to breezily exceed our builders in particular off with a modest amount of storage,
requirements. Why, in 2021, don’t we play along by offering base-level and then upgrade as and when you
have enough storage? builds with a functional minimum of need to. Running out of storage space
The reason is hardly a mystery. storage. We can’t be blamed too much is annoying, but it doesn’t have to be
Mechanical hard disk technology was if, one way or another, we end up a big deal – and rest assured, it’s not
right on track to bring us the huge undershooting our requirements. your fault.

System disk score (PCMark 10) Datadiskscore (PCMark 10) Price per gigabyte 0 1,50(0formatt3ed,0c0ap0acityas4r,e5v0ie0wed,p6e,n0c0e)0

WD Black SN850 LabsWinner 3,502 WD Black SN850 LabsWinner 5,984 WD My Passport 2.2 Recommended

Samsung980Pro Recommended 2,977 CorsairMP600Pro Recommended 4,500 Toshiba Canvio Flex 2.4

Corsair MP600 Pro 2,485 Samsung 980 Pro 4,266 Toshiba Canvio Advance 3

Kingston KC2500 2,473 Seagate FireCuda 520 4,098 Samsung 870 QVO 8.3 Recommended

Seagate FireCuda 520 2,102 Corsair MP400 4,005 WD Blue SN550 9 Recommended
Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1,693 Adata Ultimate SU800 11.7
Kingston KC2500 3,260

WD Blue SN550 1,668 Recommended Adata SE900G 2,017 Kingston KC600 11.8
Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1,935 Seagate One Touch SSD 11.9 Recommended
SanDisk Extreme Pro 1,393

WD My PassportSSD 1,325 SanDiskExtreme Pro 1,788 Kingston KC2500 12.2
WDMy PassportSSD 1,694 Samsung 870 Evo 12.5
AdataSE900G 1,317
Samsung870 QVO 1,604 Recommended
WD BlackSN750 1,266 LaCie Portable SSD 1,583 Samsung T7 12.6
SanDiskExtreme 1,544 Recommended
Samsung870 QVO 1,240 Recommended Samsung870Evo 1,473 SanDisk Extreme 12.7 Recommended
Adata Ultimate SU800 1,453
Samsung870 Evo 1,178 Adata SE760 12.8
WDBlackSN750 1,433
SanDiskExtreme 1,178 Recommended Corsair MP400 12.9
KingstonKC600 1,231
Corsair MP400 1,030 WDBlueSN550 1,192 Recommended Samsung T7 Touch Recommended 13.7
Adata Ultimate SU800 1,014
AdataSE760 1,191 LaCie Portable SSD 14.2
Samsung T7 871
Kingston KC600 931 WD Black SN750 14.9

Adata SE760 917 WD My Passport SSD 15

LaCie Portable SSD 902 Samsung 970 Evo Plus 15.8

Samsung T7 627 Adata SE900G 16.2

Samsung T7 Touch 619 Recommended Samsung T7 Touch 856 Recommended Seagate FireCuda 520 17
SeagateOne Touch SSD 567 Recommended Seagate One Touch SSD 598 Recommended WD Black SN850 LabsWinner 18.1

WD MyPassport 128 Recommended WD My Passport 359 Recommended SanDisk Extreme Pro 19.3
Toshiba Canvio Advance 326
Toshiba Canvio Advance 120 Samsung 980 Pro Recommended 19.9

Toshiba Canvio Flex 115 Toshiba Canvio Flex 324 Corsair MP600 Pro 22.1

0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 0 1,500 3,000 4,500 6,000 0 5 10 15 20 25

93

TheNetwork

Practical buying and strategic advice for IT managers and decision makers

sBBucuyeasrn’singnueideesrtoss-c2l0a2s1s

pptDourigoltoisdtoiufskociunftorigvrmiytionyoudarreepdwlrsooatcforuedtmshss.eeioDntnatesavsletc-agMnriatrdceheaepslclhaeunxgnpeleari,nasnwdhat

D ocument flow has been one It doesn’t have to be a lengthy or supervision. They can handle high
of many casualties of the expensive project. There are plenty of volumes of documents too, with the
pandemic. With employees fast and affordable desktop scanners four models in this guide offering
abruptly shifting from a on the market: this month, we test daily duty cycles ranging from 3,000
central location to their own homes, business-class models from Brother, pages up to a massive 20,000 pages.
piles of paperwork will undoubtedly Canon, Fujitsu and Kodak to help you Most dedicated scanners can
have been left in limbo back at the make the right buying decision. handle double-sided (duplex)
office. Meanwhile, new documents scanning too, which you won’t
received or generated in the past year MFP or dedicated scanner? always get from an MFP. This digitises
may not have been properly filed or both sides of a page automatically; if
shared – and security issues arise too Rather than investing in a dedicated your scanner lacks this capability,
when workers start handling scanner, you may be tempted to go you’ll need to manually
sensitive documents at home. for a multifunction printer (MFP), “aloWsotkihtiehnygmmtaoondvyoebwtuonsaisnihzeyesbsorefisfdices flip over any double-sided
which combines scanning, printing pweorrfkeicntgtimmoedteol,giot’dsitghietal” documents that you want
Against this backdrop, the benefits and copying functions in one device. to scan.
of digitisation have never been It sounds like a convenient bit of
clearer. Documents stored in a central convergence, but these devices often yoMu’arkeecosunrneected
digital repository are impossible to come with compromises: even the Virtually all business
mislay and they’re accessible to pricier models tend to have slow scan desktop scanners can be driven from
everyone – an increasingly decisive speeds and limited paper capacities. a desktop PC over a USB connection.
benefit as working from home You can end up wasting a lot of This makes it easy to centralise scan
becomes a normal part of life. employee time as users wait around operations in one location and control
to keep the scanner fed with pages. who is allowed to use the scanner.
There are valuable space savings Networked scanners are more
to be made too. With many businesses For anything more than light expensive but more versatile. Since a
already looking to downsize their scanning duties, therefore, it’s scanner like this doesn’t have to be
offices as they move to a hybrid normally smarter to buy a dedicated connected to a host PC, you can locate
working model, it’s the perfect time scanner. Even those in the £350-£450 it more or less anywhere you like
to go digital: once your hard copies price range offer fast scan speeds of around the office. If you choose a
have been scanned, you can send the 40-50 pages per minute and large- model with Wi-Fi then the only
originals to secure archival storage, capacity automatic document feeders
and then ditch those space-wasting (ADFs) so they can work through
filing cabinets. large stacks of documents without

94

@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO The Network Business Focus

LEFT TheBrother PDF is always a good choice of file
ADS-2700W scanner format, since it works with a huge
can be used over USB, range of applications and supports
Ethernet or Wi-Fi searchable text, enabling you to
BELOW Youcanset quickly locate documents containing
up one-click scan specific details such as customer
workflows with the names. To create searchable PDFs
iPrint&Scan app you’ll need scanning software with
optical character recognition (OCR)
constraint on where you put it is the capabilities, but this isn’t something
availability of a power socket. Many you normally need to worry about as
scanners offer both wired and
wireless networking, but you’ll suitable tools are
normally have to choose one or the almost invariably
other – very few let you use both bundled with
interfaces together. business scanners.

Rather than using a dedicated host deFsitninaal tion
PC, users can drive a networked As well as picking
scanner from their own desks, and the format of your
you can apply basic access controls scans, the scanner
by only installing the drivers and software will
software for those who need to scan. prompt you to
Most network scanners also support choose where your
walk-up-and-scan operations, where digital files should
you press a button on the scanner to be saved to. It’s
digitise a document and send the important to
output to a predefined location, such standardise on
as a server or a specific PC. these locations – it
will be impossible
Some vendors offer to manage your
free mobile apps too, digital documents
allowing users to scan if they’re scattered
documents directly to the four winds. Typical
into a smartphone or destinations include local folders and
tablet. If you want your networked shares; many suites can
mobile workforce to also upload scans directly to FTP or
enjoy tap-and-scan SharePoint servers.
operations, choose a One feature that’s worth looking
model with an NFC chip; closely at is cloud support. Services
users can hold a phone such as Dropbox or Google Drive can
against this to register it act as a handy central
as a scan destination. o“PffDiFleisfoarlwmaayt,ssaingcoeoidtchoice repository for document
awpoprlikcsawtioitnhsaahnudgseurpapnogretsof sharing, especially for
deDcoisciounmsent searchabletext” remote workers. Support
varies substantially across
All scanners come with vendors, though. The best
control software that scanner software lets you
lets you specify what log into cloud accounts
resolution you want to and save scanned documents directly
scan at, whether you into specific folders; other tools just
want to produce colour save your scans into the local sync
or greyscale output, and folder and leave it to the cloud client
what file format your software to do the rest – a rather less
digitised document reliable approach.
should be saved in. We For this month’s buyer’s guide
generally recommend we’ve rounded up four affordable
scanning paperwork at desktop scanning solutions, each
200dpi greyscale, as this offering an impressive range of
allows for clear and LEFT Kodak’sSmart professional document handling
legible text without Touchsoftware features ideally suited to SMBs. Read
wasting storage space. supportsawiderange on to see how to slim down your filing
of file formats cabinets and reclaim your office.

95

sBbdItpeurheltoiavettsehdhrilasiesmtnrgaietrAgteewdoDaootcSdrql-okup2uars7dilc0cistae0yunpaWnnpedorrt scans, edit the generated output files
and email them to contacts.
Walk-up operations
are supported via the
scanner’s 7.1cm colour
touchscreen. You can
select any PC on the
network that has the
Brother software installed,
and scan documents directly
to a receiving folder. Using
SCORE the scanner’s web interface

PRICE £262 exc VAT you can also create up to
from tradescanners.com 25 one-touch profiles for
direct scans to FTP sites and
Brother’s ADS-2700W desktop network shares.
scanner is a versatile choice
for SMBs on a budget. It Unauthorised use can
supports USB, Ethernet and be restricted with the
scanner’s Secure Function
Lock feature. Up to 100 user
wireless connections, and is profiles can be created to control
well suited to big batch scans access and decide who can scan to
with a speed of 35ppm, a destinations such as PCs, FTP servers
50-page ADF and a daily duty and email addresses – and whether
cycle of up to 3,000 pages. users can save scans to external media
Setup is a bit of a faff: you don’t get handles via the scanner’s built-in USB port.
any software in the box, so you’ll scanning directly to ABOVE A50-pageADF However you manage your scans,
need to download it all from Brother’s cloud and social media services. helpsthisscanner the ADS-2700W has excellent paper
website. Once you have acquired the Instead, the iPrint&Scan app for whizzthroughlengthy handling. It coped with our stack of
main utility, though, the rest of the Windows and macOS keeps scan scanjobs papers, till receipts and waybills
process is straightforward. With the operations simple. It automatically quickly and cleanly, with lightning-
scanner connected to our lab network connects to the scanner on the fast reactions to paper jams ensuring
via Ethernet the installer discovered network and allows you to define that, on the rare occasion that an item
it promptly, loaded the requisite multiple quick-scan workflows, got misfed, nothing was damaged. All
drivers and invited us to download specifying mono or colour scanning, the accompanying apps include tools
Brother’s iPrint&Scan app, along target resolution, a wide range of to automatically clean up
with Nuance’s PaperPort 14 SE digital output formats and your choice of “cwUreesbaintingettuehpreftsaocc2ae5nyononeuerc-’tsaonuch the output, including
file cabinet. output destination. While there’s no tporonfeitlewsofrokrsdhiraercetss”cans skipping blank pages,
direct integration with cloud services, auto-straightening and
You can optionally install a you can use Dropbox, Google Drive punch-hole removal.
remote network setup tool too, along and OneDrive folders as workflow
with the Presto BizCard 6 card destinations. Scans can also be sent Speed is good too. Our
management app and a wireless 30-page sheaf of well-
configuration assistant to help set up directly to email addresses, once you thumbed bank statements
the printer over Wi-Fi – although have set up an SMTP server. was efficiently scanned at the quoted
enabling this connection will disable Mobile users can install Android 35ppm speed, at both 200dpi and
the wired network port. Be aware too and iOS editions of iPrint&Scan too. 300dpi and in both greyscale and
that, this being a lower-end model, We tried this out on an iPad and had colour. Switching up to the maximum
you don’t get the full ControlCenter4 no complaints: it quickly found the 600dpi resolution cut scanning
scan management tool, nor access to scanner on the network and allowed speeds to 10ppm, but you’ll probably
Brother’s Web Connect portal, which us to remotely initiate document never need to go this high: we found
the 200dpi setting was perfectly
adequate for producing clean scans
BELOW Thecoreof and accurate searchable PDFs.
thesoftwaresuiteis SMBs that want a simple and
theuser-friendly speedy desktop scanner at a good
iPrint&Scanapp price will find the ADS-2700W ticks
all of their boxes. It doesn’t support
the full range of cloud services, but
it can’t be faulted for performance
or output quality, and a trio of
connection options means it will suit
almost any office.

SPECIFICATIONS 600dpi colour scanner
35ppmat300dpicolour simplex/duplex
50-pageADF 7.1cmcolourtouchscreen
2xUSB2 100Mbits/secEthernet 802.11n
wireless dutycycle:3,000pages/day
externalPSU BrotheriPrint&Scan,Nuance
PaperPort 14 SE, Presto BizCard 6 software
299x206x178mm(WDH,closed) 2.6kg
1yr RTB warranty

96

@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO The BusinessFocus

iDTCaqdnhuaRedianas-lclMiostfopynom2esri6eoemsdf0sctyaawwgsnaic-etrhahFenuaOnpnhReagircrMgkyhisaUS-gMLeABs, These are partnered with
profile plugins, which
SCORE determine whether your
PRICE £539 exc VAT output will be saved to a local
from printerland.co.uk or network folder, uploaded to
an FTP or SharePoint server,
Canon’s DR-M260 is expensive imported into an application,
for a USB-only desktop forwarded directly to a printer or
scanner, but it will appeal to attached to a message in your email
businesses with big document client. Canon’s support site offers
scanning demands. It offers a fast extra plugins for sending scans to
60ppm scan speed, an 80-page ADF the Nuance PaperPort app and
and a heavyweight duty cycle of up to saving to Dropbox, Google Drive,
7,500 pages per day – supported by an OneDrive or SugarSync folders.
extensive range of document For ad-hoc scanning you can
management utilities. simply select your desired document
and output profiles in the app and
Since there’s no need to connect to click the Scan button. Alternatively,
a network, installation could hardly you can use the right-hand pane to
be simpler. Just pick a host PC, run create preset shortcuts, and make
the supplied utility to load Canon’s them available from the scanner’s
TWAIN drivers and scanning completed at ABOVE It’snotmuch control panel. This isn’t a touchscreen
software, then plug the scanner in. 33ppm, while tolookat,butthe – just a five-line monochrome LCD
colour jobs averaged DR-M260creates panel – but it’s still convenient for
It’s impressively quiet in use, and 13.4ppm. We’re not bothered about fast,sharpscans quick walk-up access.
we found Canon’s speed claims were that, though, as 200dpi scans were For a more hands-on scanning
actually a touch on the conservative clear and sharp, with text as small as experience you can use Canon’s
side: we scanned in a 30-page sheaf six points accurately recognised and CapturePerfect app, which lets you
of bank statements at 200dpi and embedded in searchable PDFs. apply image enhancements such as
found the job completed at 62ppm, in colour and exposure correction, and
both greyscale and colour. Going up Paper handling was a non-issue: save your scans in TIFF, JPEG, PDF
to 300dpi had no effect on greyscale the scanner dealt with all our dog- or PPT formats.
speed, although colour performance eared documents, till receipts and RECOMMENDED If that’s not sophisticated enough
fell to 53ppm. waybills without any problems. for you, Canon also throws in a copy
Single embossed ID and credit cards of the Kofax VRS (Virtual ReScan)
As usual, the big drop-off comes at can also be scanned with the image-enhancement software –
600dpi. Here greyscale scans ultrasonic jam detection turned off, although you’ll need to
and optional carrier sheets can be n“Poanp-iesrsuhea:ntdhleinsgcwananseardealt download the DR-M260
used to safely scan passports. component from the
wtililtrhedcoegip-etsaraendddwoacyubmilelsnts, Kofax support site as this
The CaptureOnTouch software withoutanyproblems” isn’t included on the
makes light work of common scan bundled disc. This
operations. Document profiles define installs a new VRS TWAIN
resolution and colour settings, and driver, which then can be
tell the software whether or not to accessed from either of the Canon
skip blanks, rotate skewed pages and apps, and indeed any other TWAIN-
separate document batches using compliant application. With this tool
page count, barcode or zonal OCR.

you can tweak your scans to your
heart’s content, with auto-cropping,
edge-cleanup, de-speckling, contrast
and brightness settings – and when
BELOW Thesoftware you have finished, it will pass the
hasscanautomation spruced-up document back to the
and document host app to be saved.
management tools If you need a fast desktop scanner,
the DR-M260 is good value, with very
creditable scan quality and a great
software bundle. Needless to say, if
you require network support then
you will have to look elsewhere, but
for those who don’t this scanner
could be the ideal workhorse.

SPECIFICATIONS 600dpi A4 colour scanner
60ppmat300dpicolour simplex/duplex
80-pageADF 5-lineLCDpanel USB3
dutycycle:7,500pages/day externalPSU
Canon CaptureOnTouch 4 Pro, CapturePerfect
3.1,KofaxVRSsoftware 285x180x178mm
(WDH,closed) 3.6kg 1yrstandard
hardware warranty
OPTIONS A5 passport carrier, £18 exc VAT

97

fPhfFaaouesnmrjttifatdeessecwtustiockfSrotckocrloepaSrunMssdcS,BascnsnuoapnampnpinbdoigiXrnwti1n6igt0h0 Mail service; you
can send up to 300
emails per month for
free, with up to ten
addresses per message
and attachment sizes
up to 30MB. Two taps
on the touchscreen are
all it takes to send your
documents on their
SCORE way; by way of a small

PRICE £317 exc VAT safety net, the scanner
from ebuyer.com puts up a warning
reminding you that
Businesses seeking an easy way documents can’t be
to share scans in the cloud will recalled once sent, and
love Fujitsu’s ScanSnap iX1600. offering an option to
cancel the job before
Designed to make scanning a simple, you commit to the
one-tap operation, it offers USB 3 and operation.
wireless connections, strong 40ppm Mobile users can get
scan speeds and an affordable price. The Auto-Scan in on the act too, courtesy
Ease of use is exceptional from the profile, meanwhile, takes all the work ABOVE TheScanSnap of Fujitsu’s free ScanSnap
off. When you first power on the out of one-off scans: it automatically iX1600makesgood Connect app for Android and iOS.
scanner, instructions appear on the detects whether you’re scanning a useofitstouchscreen After we’d installed this on our iPad
4.3in colour touchscreen to guide standard document, business card, interface and pointed it at the scanner, we were
you through downloading Fujitsu’s receipt or photo, and saves the output able to scan directly to the tablet, or
support software and getting to a corresponding folder, using the use the app itself to pull in scans over
connected over USB. And when you most appropriate settings for quality the network.
then open the ScanSnap Home and file format. Mobile cloud operations are
application, you’ll find it presents a ScanSnap Home isn’t just about handled by the ScanSnap Cloud app,
graphical view that mirrors the capturing scans, mind. The interface which lets phone and tablet users
scanner’s control panel, for a clear organises your previously scanned browse their cloud repositories and
and consistent user experience. documents by folder or scan date, and pick online destinations for
The software comes set up with includes basic search facilities. documents, receipts, business cards
six default scan profiles; these can be Cloud services are accessed via and photos. A neat touch is that you
easily customised to suit, or used Fujitsu’s ScanSnap Cloud platform. can use the app to take
as templates for your own profiles. Signing up is free, and once you have “aTphpelicSactaionnSnmaiprrHoormstehe photos of documents and
Each one defines a complete scan connected your scanner you can scan send them as PDFs
operation, with settings for colour directly to Box, Dropbox, Evernote, usfocsraenranecexlerpa’esrrcaioennndtccreoo”nlpsaisnteeln,t directly to cloud folders.
mode, resolution, simplex or duplex Google Drive, Google Photos, Hubdoc When it came to
scanning and output destination. and OneDrive. You can even send
You can save scans as JPEGs or PDFs, receipts directly to the Shoeboxed performance, the iX1600
with optional password protection and Expensify expense account slightly exceeded the
manufacturer’s claims:
for the latter. The bundled ABBYY services – we haven’t seen better a 30-page sheaf of bank statements
FineReader app can also be used to cloud support from any scanner. was swiftly despatched at 43ppm at
apply OCR and save documents in Scans can also be sent directly to 200dpi, in both colour and mono.
Office or searchable PDF formats. email addresses using the ScanSnap Moving up to the top 600dpi setting
saw speed drop to 10.8ppm, but
businesses should be more than
happy with the output quality and
OCR accuracy at 200dpi.
BELOW Fujitsu’s The ScanSnap iX1600 is a superb
ScanSnapHome choice for SMBs and homeworkers
softwaremakes that want fast, reasonably priced
scanningabreeze desktop scanning services. The way
the touchscreen and ScanSnap Home
software work together makes
scanning a swift and intuitive
process, and Fujitsu’s cloud support
is simply second to none.

SPECIFICATIONS 600dpi A4 colour ADF
scanner 40ppmat300dpicolour simplex/
duplex 50-pageADF 4.3incolour
touchscreen USB3 802.11nwireless duty
cycle:6,000pages/day externalPSU
ScanSnap Home, ABBYY FineReader 5.5 for
ScanSnapsoftware 292x161x152mm
(WDH,closed) 3.4kg 1yrNBDadvanced
exchange warranty

98

@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO The Network Business Focus

ssAKwccofoaaendnnr’antookecbnrieoAa–dunltiassihlnrayodipfssuapessSowtti2rnnhi0taeoe8ltdnsw5ceofaerldekto from a menu and enter a
password or a PIN to send scans
SCORE directly to their workstation.
PRICE £1,520 exc VAT There’s native support for
from thescannershop.com Box, Evernote and Google
Drive too, although
Not everyone needs a scanner for Dropbox and
costing upwards of £1,500, OneDrive you’ll
but if you have a daily paper have to scan to
mountain to climb then Kodak’s the sync folder
Alaris S2085f could be the answer. on the host PC.
This mighty desktop scanner boasts The bundled
superfast 85ppm scanning and a Capture Pro
giant 300-page motorised elevator Limited Edition
tray. It’s rated for up to 20,000 pages software adds
per day, and just in case you need to single batch
scan the odd awkwardly shaped item, scanning and
it comes with a secondary A4 flatbed enhanced image
scanner built in too. processing, along
with support
You can use the S2085f over either for PDF
USB 3 or Gigabit Ethernet (but not configure encryption.
both together), and it doesn’t require and run. You The full version of the
a high-powered host as it has its own can create up to software adds data capture and
internal CPU to handle image 20 profiles to appear indexing, image merging and multiple
processing and enhancement. There’s in the display panel for batch conversion; this costs £529 per
a capacious output tray at the front, swift two-tap scanning. ABOVE A300-sheet year for Kodak Group B scanners.
while a side lever opens up the rear, feeder enables this The Alaris S2085f is certainly fast.
allowing you to feed through and scan Each profile links to a settings scannertohandle It thundered through a pile of 60 bank
documents up to 4.1m long. shortcut that defines colour and hugebatchjobs statements at an average of 86ppm –
resolution options. You can also add in both colour and greyscale, and at
Network installation is a cinch. image controls such as anti-skew, both 200pdi and 300dpi resolution.
The scanner’s touchscreen walks you blank page skipping or file separation Even going to 600dpi didn’t have any
through the process of enabling the using barcodes, and specify whether impact on greyscale scanning speed,
Ethernet port, after which we ran the to use the document hopper or the and while colour performance
driver installer on a Windows PC. This flatbed scanner. dropped to 37.5ppm, that’s still pretty
discovered the scanner right away, speedy. It’s largely academic anyway,
and happily connected to it as soon as A destination and a file output RECOMMENDED as scan quality at 200dpi will easily
we’d entered its unique pairing ID. type are specified too – you can
choose from a selection of image and satisfy your inner archivist.
Kodak’s Smart Touch software document formats, including One word of caution: when we
makes even huge scan tasks easy to searchable PDFs. Destinations can say “thundered”, we
include a local or networked folder, a y4o“trTop.1ahuemyentarosloteusn’tcpshgaate”nhcfedaroropcenauactrm,ioa,euannlsdltooaswuluetippvnutegotr mean it. During our tests,
printer, an application, an email we measured very loud
address (via either the host’s client sound levels of up to 70dB
software or an SMTP server) or a from one metre in front.
SharePoint server. If the scanner is You will ideally want to
shared between multiple users, you give this scanner its own
can register up to ten Smart Touch space, away from desks
installations for walk-up scanning; and telephones.
users just need to select their name Still, though noisy, this beast isn’t

violent. It handled our statements, till
receipts and courier bills without any
problems, and its fast double-feed
BELOW Thehardware detection stopped any from getting
mayseemdaunting, damaged when a jam occurred.
butKodak’ssoftware The Alaris S2085f will be overkill
suiteiseasytouse for many offices, but if you need to
scan on an industrial scale, it has
what it takes to keep up. Performance
is excellent, output quality is
impeccable and the integrated flatbed
makes it supremely versatile.

SPECIFICATIONS 600dpi A4 colour
scanner integratedA4flatbedscanner
85ppmat300dpicolour simplex/duplex
300-pagefeeder/elevator 3.5inLCDcolour
touchscreen USB3 GigabitEthernet duty
cycle:20,000pages/day externalPSU
Kodak Smart Touch and Capture Pro LE
software 457x371x254mm(WDH,closed)
16.8kg 3yradvancedreplacementwarranty

99

DP2r1a0y0TekVigorSwitch
sfAwoulirrothmvweoa-iolcndaoanlsgetcesePmoosfeEkonispltwstaiointncdshstrong
they’re fully
independent, so you can
use all ten connectors at once.
It’s not just the connector count ABOVE Alltenof
SCORE that’s generous – DrayTek also offers theP2100’sEthernet

PRICE £131 exc VAT plenty of management models. For portscanbeused based VLANs, QoS traffic
from broadbandbuyer.com local administration you can use the simultaneously prioritisation and static and LACP
P2100’s own web console, manage it link aggregation groups. Basic L3
DrayTek has a knack for putting from any DrayTek router that services (or L2+, as they’re sometimes
together feature-rich network supports central management, or called) include static IPv4 and IPv6
solutions at SMB-friendly install the free VigorConnect app for routing and inter-VLAN local routing
Windows and Linux, which provides – although you won’t get the dynamic
prices. The VigorSwitch P2100 is a on-site monitoring and management routing found in a full L3 switch.
case in point: this ten-port Gigabit of a whole swathe of VigorSwitch and The P2100 pairs particularly well
Ethernet switch delivers PoE+ Vigor AP devices. Alternatively, with IP cameras. It identified our
services on all copper ports, with full DrayTek’s cloud-hosted VigorACS 2 D-Link units right away and added
Layer 2 switching, basic Layer 3 service offers remote management for quick-access icons next to the
routing capabilities and flexible around £8 per node per year – and for RECOMMENDED relevant ports. We could then use the

management options. All for £131. those who prefer not to rely on the switch’s ONVIF feature to check on
The P2100’s various connectors are cloud, DrayTek offers the VigorACS 3 live video streams directly within the
clearly accessible across the front version that can be hosted on site. web interface.
panel, with eight copper GbE ports For small businesses, the native The switch can even help keep
each capable of supplying up to 30W web console may be fine. It’s very your cameras up and running, by
of 802.3at PoE+ power. The total informative, with a graphical home automatically detecting when one
power budget of 140W may sound page showing the connection speed of has become unresponsive and cycling
small, but it’s more than you’ll get each port, and lightning bolt icons to the power. Optionally, it will capture
from most other manufacturers at indicate power. If you’re concerned half-hourly snapshots from selected
this price. It’s also less restrictive than about the power budget, you can set cameras, and when one goes offline it
you might fear: we tried hooking up each port to one of three priority will send you an email alert with the
four D-Link IP cameras to the switch, levels – if you run out of watts, the last snapshot attached.
along with a Linksys wireless access ports with the lowest priority will be In addition to the native console,
point, and recorded a total power automatically switched off first. we tried out DrayTek’s
draw of only 13.5W. Since the P2100 runs the same core db“ccTyaeemchtceloeiecnmsrtgwaientsuihgtuncewprhpeahhosnewepdnloperonsruns”kneievnheeianpasgnybodyur central management
using a Vigor 2927Lac
The regular network ports are firmware as DrayTek’s enterprise router; this quickly
accompanied by a pair of Gigabit SFP switches, you don’t have to dig deep discovered the switch and
ports. With many entry-level to find network features in generated a hierarchical
switches, using the SFP sockets puts a abundance. Standard L2 features view showing which port
copper port out of service, but here include port, MAC and protocol- the switch was attached

to, along with a simple port status
graphic. You can open a detailed view
that again shows all switch ports,
attached devices and power draw,
with optional profiles to control
selected ports, apply bandwidth
limits and create VLANs.
If you want to power and manage a
moderate number of IP cameras, the
VigorSwitch P2100 is an excellent
choice. Even if you don’t, it makes a
very appealing general-purpose PoE+
switch: it’s strong on networking
features, easy to manage and
competitively priced. DAVEMITCHELL

LEFT DrayTek SPECIFICATIONS
offers extensive Desktop/1Urackchassis 8xcopperGigabit
management and Ethernet/PoE+ 2xGigabitSFP 140W
monitoring powerbudget 802.3af/atPoE 20Gbits/sec
backplanecapacity 4.1Mbitpacketbuffer
8KMACaddresses internalPSU
rackmountbrackets webbrowser
management 2yearRTBwarranty

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